Courtnay
A feminine name of French origin meaning "dweller near the courtyard".
Name Census estimates that about 441 living Americans carry the first name Courtnay. It is a predominantly female name (97.9% of registrations). The average person named Courtnay today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Courtnay births was 1985 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Courtnay. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Courtnay with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
441
~ 1 in 777,221 Americans
Peak year
1985
24 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
1996 SSA rank
#9,271
Tracked since 1965
Census
Courtnay in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 489 people with the first name Courtnay, which placed it at #20,938 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#20,938
National first-name rank
People counted
489
489 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Courtnay
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Courtnay is White at 69.3%. The next largest groups are Black (22.3%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Courtnay described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Courtnay at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.3% · 339
- Black or African American22.3% · 109
- Two or more races3.9% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Courtnay
Courtnay leans heavily female at 97.9% of total registrations, but 10 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Courtnay as a male name
- Ranked #9,271 in 1996
- 5 male births in 1996
- Peak: 1989 (5 births)
Courtnay as a female name
- Ranked #10,324 in 1998
- 8 female births in 1998
- Peak: 1985 (24 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Courtnay leans strongly female. 431 people counted with this name were female (89.6%), compared with 50 male bearers (10.4%).
Popularity
Courtnay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Courtnay from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 167 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Courtnay remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Courtnay by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Courtnay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Courtnay
The name Courtnay is of French origin, derived from the Old French word "courteis," meaning courteous or well-mannered. This name was initially used as a surname, referring to someone who displayed courtly behavior or manners. It gained prominence during the Middle Ages, particularly among the nobility and aristocracy.
The earliest recorded use of Courtnay as a given name dates back to the 13th century. One of the earliest known figures with this name was Courtnay, Earl of Devon, born in 1292. He was a prominent English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War between England and France.
Another notable individual with the name Courtnay was Courtnay of Penwith, a Cornish landowner and military leader who lived in the late 14th century. He played a significant role in the Cornish uprising against King Richard II in 1387.
In the 16th century, Courtnay Marbury was an English merchant and explorer who is believed to have been one of the first Englishmen to visit the West Indies. He was born in 1555 and is known for his travels to the Caribbean and his accounts of the region.
During the 17th century, Courtnay Crittenden was a prominent English politician and member of parliament. Born in 1629, he was a staunch supporter of the Parliamentarian cause during the English Civil War and served as a member of Oliver Cromwell's Council of State.
In more recent times, Courtnay Terrell was an American jazz singer and actress who gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s. Born in 1914, she was known for her sultry voice and performances in several Hollywood musicals.
While the name Courtnay has its roots in the French language and medieval European history, it has been adopted and used across various cultures and regions over time. Its association with nobility, courtesy, and refinement has contributed to its enduring appeal as a given name.
People
Courtnay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Courtnay as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Courtnay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Courtnay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 441 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Courtnay going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 777,221 US residents.
Is Courtnay a common name?
We classify Courtnay as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 477 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Courtnay most popular?
The single biggest year for Courtnay was 1985, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Courtnay is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Courtnay in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 489 people with the name Courtnay, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,938 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Courtnay in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Courtnay?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Courtnay leans strongly female. 431 people counted with this name were female (89.6%), compared with 50 male bearers (10.4%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Courtnay?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Courtnay is White at 69.3%. The next largest groups are Black (22.3%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Courtnay most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Courtnay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.3% (339 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Courtnay in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Courtnay a female name?
Yes, 97.9% of people registered as Courtnay in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Courtnay still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Courtnay in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Courtnay can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Courtnay?
Find out how many people have the name Courtnay on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.