Cortina last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Cortina is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Cortina.

Meaning of Cortina

A habitational surname referring to someone from any of the various places named Cortina in Italy or Spain.

Cortina, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Cortina surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cortina in America

Cortina is the 10577th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cortina surname appeared 3,031 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Cortina.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cortina to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 10577 12248 -14.64%
Count 3,031 2,331 26.11%
Proportion per 100k 1.03 0.86 17.99%

The history of the last name Cortina

The surname Cortina originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is derived from the Spanish word "cortina," which means curtain or drape. This name likely originated as a locational name, referring to someone who lived near a place where curtains or drapes were made or sold.

The earliest known record of the Cortina surname dates back to the 13th century in the region of Castile, where it was found in various medieval records and manuscripts. It is also believed that the name may have originated from the town of Cortina d'Ampezzo, located in the province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of northern Italy.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Cortina surname was Juan Cortina, a Spanish soldier and explorer who participated in the conquest of Mexico in the 16th century. He was born in Seville, Spain, in the late 15th century and died in Mexico in the mid-16th century.

Another notable individual with the Cortina surname was Juan Bautista Cortina, a 19th-century Mexican-American military officer and leader of the Cortina Troubles, a series of armed conflicts between Mexican-American settlers and Anglo-American settlers in Texas. He was born in Camargo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, in 1824 and died in Laredo, Texas, in 1892.

In the field of art, one of the most famous bearers of the Cortina surname was Pietro Cortina, an Italian painter and engraver who lived in the 18th century. He was born in Messina, Italy, in 1727 and died in Rome in 1803.

Another notable figure with the Cortina surname was Juan Cortina Mauri, a Spanish politician and lawyer who served as the President of the Catalan Regional Government from 1933 to 1934. He was born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1887 and died in exile in Mexico City in 1951.

Lastly, Ernesto Cortina, a Mexican businessman and philanthropist, was a prominent figure in the 20th century. He was born in Monterrey, Mexico, in 1908 and died in the same city in 1991. He was known for his contributions to education and his support for various charitable organizations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cortina

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Cortina.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Cortina was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 25.90% 785
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.49% 15
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 1.78% 54
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.23% 7
Hispanic Origin 71.59% 2,170

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Cortina has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 25.90% 30.42% -16.05%
Black 0.49% 0.39% 22.73%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.78% 1.67% 6.38%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.23% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 71.59% 67.18% 6.36%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Cortina was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Cortina, please contact us.

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Cortina last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 11, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/cortina-surname-popularity/.

"Cortina last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/cortina-surname-popularity/. Accessed 11 December, 2024

Cortina last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/cortina-surname-popularity/.

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