Curtus
A masculine name of English origin meaning "resilient one".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Curtus. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Curtus today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Curtus births was 1988 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Curtus. 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 Curtus. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1988
6 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1988 SSA rank
#6,584
Tracked since 1977
Census
Curtus in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 131 people with the first name Curtus, which placed it at #48,547 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
#48,547
National first-name rank
People counted
131
131 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
67.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Curtus
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Curtus is White at 67.9%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Curtus 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 Curtus at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.9% · 89
- Black or African American21.4% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.1% · 4
- Two or more races3.1% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Popularity
Curtus: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Curtus from the 1970s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Curtus 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 Curtus 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 Curtus
The name Curtus originates from the Latin language, deriving from the word "curtus," which means "short" or "truncated." This name was commonly used during the Roman Empire, particularly among the lower classes or plebeians. It is believed to have been a nickname or cognomen given to individuals of shorter stature or those who had a physical characteristic related to being short or stumpy.
The earliest recorded mention of the name Curtus can be traced back to ancient Roman inscriptions and records from the 1st century AD. One notable individual named Curtus was a Roman soldier who served in the Praetorian Guard during the reign of Emperor Claudius (41-54 AD). His name was inscribed on a tombstone found in the ancient city of Rome.
In the 3rd century AD, a Roman philosopher and writer named Curtus Rufus gained recognition for his works on Stoicism and ethics. Unfortunately, most of his writings have been lost to history, but he is mentioned in the works of later philosophers and scholars.
During the Middle Ages, the name Curtus remained in use, albeit less commonly. One notable figure was Curtus the Monk, a Benedictine monk who lived in the 9th century AD. He was renowned for his scholarly works on theology and his contributions to the monastic libraries of the time.
In the Renaissance period, a prominent Italian humanist and scholar named Curtus Barzizza (1369-1411) made significant contributions to the study of Latin literature and grammar. He was a influential figure in the revival of classical learning during the Italian Renaissance.
Another individual of note was Curtus Harprecht (1576-1637), a German composer and organist who was active during the early Baroque period. He is known for his sacred choral works and organ compositions, which were highly regarded in his time.
While the name Curtus has fallen out of common usage in modern times, it remains a unique and historically significant name that reflects its Latin roots and the individuals who bore it throughout history.
People
Curtus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Curtus 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
Curtus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Curtus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Curtus 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Curtus a common name?
We classify Curtus as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Curtus most popular?
The single biggest year for Curtus was 1988, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Curtus is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Curtus in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 131 people with the name Curtus, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #48,547 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 Curtus 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 Curtus?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Curtus appears almost entirely male. Of the 133 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Curtus?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Curtus is White at 67.9%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Curtus most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Curtus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.9% (89 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 Curtus in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Curtus a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Curtus 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 Curtus still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Curtus 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 Curtus 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 Curtus?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.