Curtis

Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin derived from the Old French curteis (Modern French courtois, surname Courtois), which 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 -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. The Spanish version of this surname is Cortés or Cortez.

Surname uses: Curtis

People 
 Adam Curtis (born 1955), Latino television documentarian
 Alan Curtis (disambiguation), several people
 Andrew Curtis (cricketer) (born 1943), English cricketer
 Anne Curtis (born 1985), Philippine actress
 Alison Curtis (born 1977), Canadian-Irish radio presenter
 Allen Curtis (1877–1961), American film director
 Benjamin Curtis (disambiguation), also Ben Curtis, multiple people
 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), several people
 Charles Curtis (1860–1936), 31st Vice President of the United States (1929-1933)
 Charles Curtis (botanist) (1853–1928), English botanist who became the first superintendent of the Penang Botanic Gardens
 Chet Curtis (1939–2014), American journalist
 Charles W. Curtis (born 1926), American mathematician
 Chris Curtis (1941–2005), English musician, member of band The Searchers
 Chuck Curtis (1935–2016), American football coach
 Cliff Curtis (born 1968), New Zealand film and television actor
 Cliff Curtis (baseball) (1881-1943), American baseball player
 Clint Curtis (born 1958), American attorney
 Cyrus H. K. Curtis (1850–1933), an American magazine publisher
 David Curtis (born 1948), Welsh Gymnast and Trampoline champion
 Dexter Curtis (1828–1898), American inventor and politician
 Dick Curtis (1902-1952), American actor
 Edward S. Curtis (1868–1952), photographer
 Edmund Curtis (1881–1943), historian and Professor of History
 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
 Harriot Curtis (1881–1974), American golfer
 Harry Curtis (baseball) (1883–1951), American baseball player
 Heber Doust Curtis (1872–1942), American astronomer
 Ian Curtis (1956–1980), English musician, lead singer of Joy Division
 Jamie Lee Curtis (born 1958), American actress
 John Curtis (disambiguation), several people
 Joseph S. Curtis (1831–1878), American politician and lawyer
 Kathlyn Curtis, Manitoba judge
 Kelly Curtis (born 1956), American actress
 Kevin Curtis (born 1978), professional American football player
 King Curtis (1934–1971), American saxophonist
 L. Perry Curtis (born 1932), American historian of Ireland
 Lee Curtis (born Peter Flannery), British musician
 Lionel George Curtis (1872–1955), founder of the Royal Institute of International Affairs
 Mac Curtis (1939–2013), American musician
 Mark Curtis (British author), British political author
 Mark Curtis (SWP member) (born 1959), former American Socialist Worker's Party member
 Mary Louise Curtis Bok Zimbalist (1876–1970), founder of the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia
 Margaret Curtis (1883–1965) American golfer and tennis player
 Matt Curtis, American college baseball coach
 Moses Ashley Curtis (M.A. Curtis, 1808–1872), American botanist and mycologist
 Michael Curtis (disambiguation), several people
 Norman Curtis (footballer) (1924–2009), English football player
 Patrick Curtis (1740–1832), Irish archbishop
 Patrick Curtis (producer) (born 1938), American producer
 Philip Curtis (1926–1951), English soldier
 Reginald Salmond Curtis (1863-1922), British soldier
 Richard Curtis (born 1956), British comedy scriptwriter
 Ronan Curtis (born 1996), Irish football player
 Samuel Curtis (S.Curtis, 1779–1860), English botanist
 Samuel Ryan Curtis (1805–1866), Union General in the American Civil War
 Sarah Curtis (geographer), British geographer and academic
 Scott Curtis (born 1984), Life FM radio presenter
 Tom Curtis (disambiguation), several people
 Thomas Bradford Curtis (1911–1993), American Representative from Missouri
 Tommy Curtis (born 1952), American former college basketball player
 Tony Curtis (1925–2010), American actor
 Ulysses Curtis (1926–2013), American football player
 Wayne Curtis (footballer, born 1967), Welsh football player
Willa Pearl Curtis (1896-1970), American actress
 William Curtis (1746–1799), English botanist

Fictional characters 
 Randall Curtis, character on The Simpsons based on George Lucas
 Rey Curtis, character on Law & Order
 Izumi Curtis, character in Fullmetal Alchemist
 Three brothers on The Outsiders (U.S. TV series), Ponyboy Curtis (the shows narrator), Sodapop Curtis and Darrel "Darry" Curtis
 Jackson Curtis and Kate Curtis, fictional characters from 2012 (film)

Surname uses: Curtis

People 
 Alan B. Curtis, American filmmaker
 Allen Hiram Curtis (1845–1907), American botanist
 Alice Turner Curtis (1860-1958), American writer
 Arthur Curtis James (1867–1941), American copper mine and railroad speculator
 Aubyn Curtiss (1925-2017), American politician
 Charles Curtis (1908–1993), American communist
 David Raymond Curtis (1878–1953), American mathematician
 Edwin Burr Curtis (1852–1928), American attorney, bookseller, and director of A. G. Spalding Bros
 Elden Francis Curtiss (born 1932), American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church
 Emma Curtiss Bascom (1828–1916), American educator, suffragist and reformer
 Glenn Curtiss (1878–1930), American aviation pioneer
 H. W. Curtiss (1824–1902), American politician
 James Curtiss (1803–1859), American politician
 Jim Curtiss (1861–1945), American professional baseball player
 John Curtiss (1924–2013), British Royal Air Force officer
 John Curtiss Underwood (1809–1873), American lawyer, abolitionist politician, and federal judge
 John Shelton Curtiss (1899–1983), American historian of Russia and historical scholar of old Yankee stock
 Julian Wheeler Curtiss (1858–1944), golf equipment manufacturer
 Leon Curtiss (1861–1934), American politician
 Louis Curtiss (1865–1924), Canadian-born American architect
 Martha E. Sewall Curtis (1858–1915), American suffragist, writer
 Philip Curtiss (1885-1964), Politician, novelist, and newspaper reporter 
 Roy Curtiss, American microbiologist
 Sidney Curtiss (1917–1994), American politician
 Thomas Quinn Curtiss (1915–2000) French-born writer, and film and theatre critic
 Virginia Henry Curtiss Heckscher (1875–1941), president of The Heckscher Foundation for Children
 Walker M. Curtiss (1852–1917), American politician

Given name uses: Curtis

People 
 Curtis Armstrong (born 1953), American actor
 Curtis Browning (born 1993), Australian Rugby Union player
 Curtis Bush (born 1962), American kickboxer
 Curtis Enis (born 1976), retired NFL running back
 Curtis Granderson (born 1981), a New York Mets outfielder
 Curtis Hanson (born 1945), American filmmaker
 Curtis James Jackson III (born 1975), American rapper, actor and entrepreneur (better known as 50 Cent)
 Curtis Jerrells (born 1987), basketball player for Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Premier League
 Curtis Joseph (born 1967), Canadian ice hockey goaltender
 Curtis Lazar, professional ice hockey player
 Curtis Lee (1939–2015), American singer 
 Curtis LeMay (1906–1990), American general in the United States Air Force
 Curtis Martin (born 1973), American football player
 Curtis Mayfield (1942-1999), American singer-songwriter
 Curtis Naughton (born 1995), English Rugby League player
 Curtis Reitz (born c. 1930), Algernon Sydney Biddle Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School
 Curtis Robb (born 1972), British middle-distance runner
 Curtis Rowe (born 1949), American basketball player
 Curtis Salgado (born 1954), rhythm and blues musician and singer-songwriter
 Curtis Samuel (born 1996), American football player
 Curtis Sironen (born 1993), Australian Rugby League player
 Curtis Stigers (born 1965), American singer-songwriter
 Curtis Strange (born 1955), American professional golfer
 Curtis Warren (born 1963), British criminal
 Curtis Woodhouse (born 1980), English football player and boxer

Fictional characters 
 Curtis Manning, fictional character played by Jamaican-Canadian actor Roger Cross as part of the television series 24
 Curtis Wilkins, fictional character from the comic strip Curtis
 Curtis (Stargate), recurring character in Stargate Universe
 Curtis Holt (Arrowverse), fictional character in Arrow on CW as Mister Terrific played by Actor Echo Kellum
 Curtis Donovan, fictional character played by actor Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as part of the UK television series Misfits

Middle name uses: Curtis
Marron Curtis Fort (1938–2019), American-German translator and educator

See also 
Courtois (disambiguation)
Curtice

References 

Category:English masculine given names