Kortni
A feminine variant of the name "Courtney", derived from the French surname meaning "dweller at the court".
Name Census estimates that about 1,147 living Americans carry the first name Kortni. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Kortni today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kortni births was 1990 (70 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kortni. 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
1.1K
~ 1 in 298,827 Americans
Peak year
1990
70 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2018 SSA rank
#10,217
Tracked since 1974
Popularity
Kortni: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kortni 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 516 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
Kortni 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 Kortni during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kortnis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Kortni, while Maryland, Alabama, Utah recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kortni
The given name Kortni has its roots in the Old English language, originating from the Anglo-Saxon era in the 5th to 11th centuries. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "cort," which means short or small. This name likely emerged as a descriptor for someone with a shorter stature or as a diminutive form of longer names containing the word "cort."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kortni can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of landholdings and properties commissioned by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest of England. The entry mentions a landowner named Kortni, suggesting the name was already in use by the late 11th century.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Kortni remained relatively uncommon but was occasionally found in various historical records and chronicles. One notable bearer of this name was Kortni of Wessex, a minor nobleman who served as a military commander during the reign of King Edward the Confessor in the 11th century.
During the Renaissance period, the name Kortni gained some popularity among the aristocracy and upper classes. A famous example from this era is Kortni de Vere, born in 1532, who was a prominent courtier and diplomat in the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Her strategic alliances and influential connections made her a powerful figure in 16th-century English politics.
In the 17th century, Kortni Winthrop, born in 1609, was a prominent Puritan colonist and the first governor of the Connecticut Colony. His leadership and advocacy for religious freedom played a significant role in shaping the early development of New England.
Another noteworthy individual was Kortni Ross, born in 1745, a Scottish explorer and naturalist who accompanied Captain James Cook on his voyages to the Pacific Ocean. Ross made significant contributions to the field of natural history and documented numerous plant and animal species during his expeditions.
During the 19th century, the name Kortni experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly in the United States. One notable figure was Kortni Catt, born in 1859, a pioneering American women's rights activist and leader of the women's suffrage movement. Her tireless efforts and advocacy were instrumental in securing the constitutional right for women to vote in the United States.
People
Kortni + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kortni as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kortni: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kortni?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,147 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kortni 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 298,827 US residents.
Is Kortni a common name?
We classify Kortni as "Rare". It ranks above 91% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,189 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kortni most popular?
The single biggest year for Kortni was 1990, when 70 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kortni is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Kortni a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Kortni 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.