Curtiss
From the Anglo-French surname meaning "courteous" or "polite."
Name Census estimates that about 3,120 living Americans carry the first name Curtiss. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Curtiss today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Curtiss births was 1959 (126 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Curtiss. 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
3.1K
~ 1 in 109,857 Americans
Peak year
1959
126 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,666
Tracked since 1896
Popularity
Curtiss: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Curtiss from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 947 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Curtiss 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 Curtiss during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Curtiss' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 25 states and territories. California, Illinois, Ohio recorded the most babies named Curtiss, while Washington, Montana, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 47 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Curtiss
The name Curtiss is an anglicized spelling variation of the French given name Courtois, which derived from the Old French word "courteis" meaning "courteous" or "polite." It emerged during the Middle Ages, originating from the regions of medieval France.
The earliest recorded use of the name Curtiss dates back to the late 12th century, appearing in various historical records and manuscripts from that period. One notable early bearer was Curtiss de Beaufou, a French nobleman and landowner who lived in the latter half of the 13th century.
In the 14th century, the name gained some prominence with Curtiss de Valois, a knight and military commander who served under King Philip VI of France during the Hundred Years' War. He was celebrated for his bravery and leadership in several key battles against the English forces.
As the name spread across Western Europe, it was adopted in various forms, including Curtiss, Curtis, and Courtois. In England, the name Curtiss became more commonly used after the Norman Conquest, brought by French settlers and nobles.
One of the earliest recorded Englishmen with the name was Curtiss de Auberville, a Norman knight who accompanied William the Conqueror during the invasion of England in 1066. He was granted lands in Wiltshire and his descendants continued to use the name for several generations.
In the 16th century, Curtiss Weston, an English diplomat and scholar, gained recognition for his work as an ambassador to the court of Emperor Charles V. He was also a noted translator and author, contributing to the Renaissance humanist movement.
During the American Colonial era, the name Curtiss was brought to the New World by early English and French settlers. One notable bearer was Curtiss Thaxter, a merchant and ship owner from Massachusetts who lived in the late 17th century and played a role in the establishment of the Plymouth Colony.
In the 19th century, Curtiss Wilbur, an American inventor and aviation pioneer, made significant contributions to the development of early aircraft. He is best known for designing and building the Wright Flyer, the first successful powered aircraft, along with his brother Wilbur Wright.
People
Curtiss + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Curtiss 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
Curtiss: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Curtiss?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,120 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Curtiss 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 109,857 US residents.
Is Curtiss a common name?
We classify Curtiss as "Rare". It ranks above 95.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,074 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Curtiss most popular?
The single biggest year for Curtiss was 1959, when 126 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Curtiss is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Curtiss a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Curtiss 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.
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.