2000
#12,248
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,331
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.86
Rare Last name
Cortina
A habitational surname referring to someone from any of the various places named Cortina in Italy or Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,278 Americans carry the last name Cortina. That puts it at #10,674 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.96 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 104,562 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cortina surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
3.3K
1 in 104,562
Census rank
#10,674
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,859 bearers of the surname Cortina in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.96 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10674th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cortina, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 73.6%. The next largest groups are White (23.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cortina
Among Census respondents with the surname Cortina, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 73.6%. The next largest groups are White (23.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Cortina bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Cortina surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino73.6% · 2,105
- White23.3% · 665
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 60
- Black or African American0.5% · 15
- Two or more races0.5% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cortina
Cortina appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#10,577
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,031
+700 bearers (+30.0%)
Per 100,000 1.03
Rank movement Up 1,671 places
2020
#10,674
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,859
-172 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.96
Rank movement Down 97 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,248 | 2,331 | 0.86 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,577 | 3,031 | 1.03 | +700 bearers (+30.0%) | Up 1,671 places |
| 2020 | #10,674 | 2,859 | 0.96 | -172 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 97 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Cortina surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #10,577 | #10,674 | -0.9% |
| Count | 3,031 | 2,859 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.03 | 0.96 | -7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cortina bearers went from 3,031 to 2,859 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 97 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,577 to #10,674.
FAQ
Cortina surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cortina?
Name Census estimates that about 3,278 living Americans carry the surname Cortina. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 104,562 residents.
How common is Cortina?
Cortina ranks #10,674 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.96 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,859 people with the surname Cortina. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,278), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.96 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.96 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Cortina.
Has Cortina become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cortina went from 3,031 recorded bearers to 2,859. That is a decrease of 172 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,577 to #10,674.
What does the Census say about the background of Cortina?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cortina, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 73.6%. The next largest groups are White (23.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Cortina in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.6% (2,105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cortina appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (73.6%), White (23.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Cortina (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Cortina mean?
A habitational surname referring to someone from any of the various places named Cortina in Italy or Spain. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Cortina (0.96 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Cortina?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.