Courtnie
A feminine name of English origin meaning "diminutive form of courteous".
Name Census estimates that about 2,026 living Americans carry the first name Courtnie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Courtnie today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Courtnie births was 1994 (139 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Courtnie. 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.
People living today
2.0K
~ 1 in 169,178 Americans
Peak year
1994
139 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2017 SSA rank
#16,418
Tracked since 1973
Popularity
Courtnie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Courtnie from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 993 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Courtnie 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 Courtnie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Courtnies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Courtnie, while New Jersey, Oklahoma, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 39 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Courtnie
The name Courtnie is a modern English variation of the French name Courtney, which itself is derived from the Old French word "cortenie," meaning "courteous" or "well-bred." The name's origins can be traced back to the 12th century, when it first emerged as a surname for families living in the region of Courtenay, a town located in the northern part of France.
The earliest recorded use of the name Courtney as a given name dates back to the 13th century, when it was primarily used for males. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Courtney of Arwenack, a 14th-century English nobleman and military commander who served under King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War.
In the 15th century, the name gained popularity among the English aristocracy, with notable figures such as Courtney of Penwith, a powerful landowner and member of the Cornish gentry, and Courtney of Devon, a prominent family with ties to the English royal court.
As the name spread throughout Europe, it also found its way into various literary works and historical records. For instance, the character of Courtney Woodhouse appears in the 16th-century play "The Tragedy of Dido, Queen of Carthage" by Christopher Marlowe.
Over the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Courtnie or its variations. These include:
1. Courtney of Arwenack (c. 1320 - c. 1393), an English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War.
2. Courtney of Penwith (c. 1440 - c. 1510), a prominent landowner and member of the Cornish gentry.
3. Courtney of Devon (active in the 15th century), a powerful English family with ties to the royal court.
4. Courtney Vance (born 1960), an American actor known for his roles in films such as "The Hunt for Red October" and "The Preacher's Wife."
5. Courtney Love (born 1964), an American singer-songwriter and the widow of Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of the band Nirvana.
The name Courtnie, with its distinct spelling variation, emerged in more recent times as an English adaptation of the traditional Courtney. While its origins can be traced back to the medieval period, the name's popularity has endured throughout the centuries, reflecting its association with nobility, courtesy, and refinement.
People
Courtnie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Courtnie 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
Courtnie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Courtnie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,026 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Courtnie 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 169,178 US residents.
Is Courtnie a common name?
We classify Courtnie as "Rare". It ranks above 93.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,114 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Courtnie most popular?
The single biggest year for Courtnie was 1994, when 139 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Courtnie is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Courtnie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Courtnie 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.
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.