Curtez
A French surname transferred to masculine forename of uncertain meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 75 living Americans carry the first name Curtez. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Curtez today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Curtez births was 1994 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Curtez. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Curtez. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
75
~ 1 in 4,570,058 Americans
Peak year
1994
9 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2011 SSA rank
#12,662
Tracked since 1992
Popularity
Curtez: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Curtez from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 45 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Curtez 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 Curtez 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 Curtez
The given name Curtez is believed to have its roots in the Latin language, originating from the word "curtus," which means "short" or "dwarfish." It first emerged during the Roman era, likely as a nickname or descriptive name given to individuals of shorter stature.
In the early medieval period, the name gained popularity across various regions of Europe, particularly in areas where Latin influences were strong, such as Italy, France, and parts of the Germanic lands. Variations in spelling, including Curtez, Curtius, and Curtius, began to appear in historical records from the 6th to 9th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Curtez can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Tacitus, who mentioned a Curtius Rufus, a Roman senator and military leader in the 1st century AD. Another notable figure was Curtius Montanus, a Roman poet and orator who lived during the reign of Emperor Tiberius in the early 1st century.
In the Middle Ages, the name Curtez was borne by several influential individuals, including Curtez de Boulogne, a French crusader and nobleman who participated in the Third Crusade in the late 12th century. Curtez de Montfort, a French knight and military commander, played a significant role in the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars in the early 13th century.
During the Renaissance period, the name gained further prominence with individuals such as Curtez Gritti, a Venetian nobleman and diplomat who served as the Doge of Venice from 1523 to 1538. Curtez Montaigne, a French Renaissance philosopher and one of the most significant figures of the French Renaissance, was born in 1533 and is renowned for his influential work, "Essays."
In more recent times, notable individuals with the name Curtez include Curtez Grayson, an American professional basketball player who played in the NBA from 1984 to 1995, and Curtez Layton, an American actor and voice artist known for his work in animation and video games.
People
Curtez + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Curtez 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
Curtez: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Curtez?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 75 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Curtez 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 4,570,058 US residents.
Is Curtez a common name?
We classify Curtez as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 76 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Curtez most popular?
The single biggest year for Curtez was 1994, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Curtez is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Curtez in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Curtez a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Curtez in the SSA data are male. 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 Curtez still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Curtez 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 Curtez 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Curtez?
See how many Americans are named Curtez on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.