Cortes surname: U.S. census count, rank and records | FamilyCrests

The Cortes surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 46,229 people carried this name — #751 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 6,380 people counted. That is up 53% from 30,141 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Cortes surname

A surname from Spanish, variant of Cortez.

From Spanish Cortés.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Cortes» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 19,735 people named Cortes live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 7,146
Córdoba 2,080
City of Buenos Aires 1,571
Santa Fe 1,488
Mendoza 1,418
Santiago del Estero 1,086
San Juan 508
Salta 490

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 2,133 people named Cortes.

1,058 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 76 départements, most often Bouches-du-Rhône.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born

Born outside France 1,058
Bouches-du-Rhône 203
Hauts-de-Seine 142
Hérault 68
Essonne 65
Pyrénées-Orientales 48
Vaucluse 43
Paris 42
Aude 39

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

378 people named Cortes live in Switzerland.

They live in 17 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Vaud 87
Geneva 64
Zurich 55
Neuchâtel 29
Valais 22
Bern 21
Aargau 19
St. Gallen 15

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In the Nordic population registers

120 people named Cortes is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 120

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In print

Cortes in American newspapers,
1811–1950.

Newspaper page from Alexandria Daily Gazette, Commercial & Political carrying the name Cortes
Alexandria Daily Gazette, Commercial & Political 1811-10-25
Newspaper page from Richmond Enquirer carrying the name Cortes
Richmond Enquirer 1821-05-01
Newspaper page from The Evening Telegraph carrying the name Cortes
The Evening Telegraph 1869-05-12

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 325,917 pages in all carry the name.

Who carried it

People named Cortes,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Carolina-Dafne Alonso-Cortés
    Carolina-Dafne Alonso-Cortés 1933– · writer
  • John Cortes
    John Cortes 1953– · politician
  • Julito Buhisan Cortes
    Julito Buhisan Cortes 1956– · Catholic priest
  • Lisa Cortes
    Lisa Cortes 1960– · screenwriter
  • John Cortes
    John Cortes 1961– · politician

Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 100 lives in all are documented under this name.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Cortes.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Cortes is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See what a volume holds
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