Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from the Old French curteis which was in turn derived from Latin cohors. Nicknames include Curt, Curty and Curtie.
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Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from the Old French curteis (Modern French courtois) which was in turn derived from Latin cohors. Nicknames include Curt, Curty and Curtie.
The name means "polite, courteous, or well-bred". It is a compound of curt- "court" and -eis "-ish". The spelling u to render [u] in Old French was mainly Anglo-Norman and Norman, when the spelling o [u] was the usual Parisian French one, Modern French ou [u]. -eis is the Old French suffix for -ois, Western French (including Anglo-Norman) keeps -eis, simplified to -is in English. The word court shares the same etymology but retains a Modern French spelling, after the orthography had changed.
It was brought to England (and subsequently, the rest of the Isles) via the Norman Conquest. In the United Kingdom, the name Curtis was at its height in 1996, when it was the 78th most popular boy's name in England and Wales. Curtis was the 72nd most popular boy's name in 1963 in the United States, but has declined in popularity there since. Many Hungarian immigrants in English-speaking countries with the last name Kertész have adopted the name Curtis, since it is pronounced similarly and helped them integrate into their new community.
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Surname
People
Adam Curtis (born 1955), English television documentarian
Alan Curtis (disambiguation)
Alexander Curtis (disambiguation)
Alice B. Curtis (1874–1956), American suffragist, writer
Alice Turner Curtis (1860–1958), American writer
Alison Curtis (born 1977), Canadian Irish radio presenter
Allen Curtis (1877–1961), American film director
Andrew Curtis (cricketer) (born 1943), English cricketer
Anne Curtis (born 1985), Philippine actress
Anthony Curtiss (1919–1981), American naturalist, elder brother of Sydney Curtiss and Thomas Quinn Curtiss
Aubyn Curtiss (1925–2017), American politician
Ben or Benjamin Curtis (disambiguation)
Cathrine Curtis (1889– ?), American actress
Catie Curtis (born 1965), American singer-songwriter
Chad Curtis (born 1968), American former Major League Baseball player convicted of sexual assault
Charles Curtis (disambiguation)
Chet Curtis (1939–2014), American journalist
Chris Curtis (fighter) (born 1987), American MMA fighter
Fictional characters
Rey Curtis, in the television series Law & Order
Izumi Curtis and her husband Sig, in the manga and anime series Fullmetal Alchemist
Three brothers in The Outsiders: Ponyboy Curtis (the novel's narrator), Sodapop Curtis and Darrel "Darry" Curtis
Given name
People
Curtis Armstrong (born 1953), American actor
Curtis Bolton (born 1995), American football player
Curtis Brooks (born 1998), American football player
Curtis Browning (born 1993), Australian Rugby Union player
Curtis Bush (born 1962), American kickboxer
Curtis Cheek (1958–2024), American bridge player and aerospace engineer
Curtis Cheng, Hong Kong–Australian unsworn police employee shot dead by an Arab extremist
Curtis Cochran, American politician
Curtis Cregan (born 1977), American singer and actor
Curtis Enis (born 1976), NFL running back
Curtis Grace, American politician
Curtis Granderson (born 1981), New York Mets outfielder
Curtis Hanson (born 1945), American filmmaker
Curtis Harrison (born 1978), Canadian actor
Curtis Hodges (born 1999), American football player
Curtis Jackson III (born 1975), American rapper, actor and entrepreneur, known professionally as 50 Cent
Curtis Jacobs (born 2002), American football player
Fictional characters
Curtis Donovan, in the UK television series Misfits
Curtis Hagen, in the television series White Collar
Curtis Holt (Arrowverse), in the television series Arrow
Curtis Manning (24 character), in the television series 24
Curtis Wilkins, in the comic strip Curtis
Curtis (Stargate), a recurring character in the television series Stargate Universe
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Chris Curtis (musician) (1941–2005), British drummer and singer, best known for being with The Searchers
Chris Curtis (politician) (born 1994), British Member of Parliament
Chuck Curtis (1935–2016), American football coach
Cliff Curtis (baseball) (1881–1943), American baseball player
Cliff Curtis (born 1968), New Zealand film and television actor
Chuck Curtis (1935–2016), American football player and coach
Cyrus H. K. Curtis (1850–1933), American magazine publisher
David Curtis (disambiguation)
Dexter Curtis (1828–1898), American inventor and politician
Dick Curtis (1902–1952), American actor
Edmund Curtis (1881–1943), historian and professor of history
Edward Curtis (disambiguation)
Edwin Curtis (1906–1999), English Anglican archbishop in Mauritius
Elden Francis Curtiss (born 1932), American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church
Emma Curtiss Bascom (1828–1916), née Curtiss, American educator, suffragist and reformer
Fanny Curtis (1908–2003), American sportswoman
Findlay Curtis (born 2006), Scottish footballer
George Ticknor Curtis (1812–1894), American politician and lawyer
George William Curtis (1824–1892), American writer and public speaker
Glenn Curtiss (1878–1930), American aviation pioneer and founder of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
H. W. Curtis (c. 1816–?), Wisconsin state senator
H. W. Curtiss (1824–1902), American politician
Harriot Curtis (1881–1974), American golfer
Harry Curtis (baseball) (1883–1951), American baseball player
Heber Doust Curtis (1872–1942), American astronomer
Helen Noble Curtis (1874–1961), American activist, volunteer, educator and speaker
Ian Curtis (1956–1980), English musician, lead singer of Joy Division
James Webb Curtis (1856–1921), American physician and volunteer military personnel
James Curtiss (1803–1859), American politician
Jamie Lee Curtis (born 1958), American actress
Jasmine Curtis (born 1994), Filipino actress
Jim Curtiss (1861–1945), American baseball player
John Curtis (disambiguation), also John Curtiss
Joseph S. Curtis (1831–1878), American politician and lawyer
