The Curtis surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 101,801 people carried this name — #309 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 2,900 people counted. That is up 3% from 98,958 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Curtis surname
An English surname transferred from the nickname, originally a nickname for a refined or courtly person.
From Old French corteis and curteis (Modern French courtois (“polite, courteous”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Curtis» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890
Ireland registered 23 births for the Curtis name in 1890.
Most were registered in Leinster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,000 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Dublin.”
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born, 1890
Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 95 people named Curtis.
Most of them — 61 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 10 départements, most often Paris.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 91 people named Curtis 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.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
61 people named Curtis live in Switzerland.
They live in 9 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
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
80 people named Curtis are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
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) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s
Curtis was found among the farmers of 11 counties.
It was most frequent in Buckinghamshire: 60 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 167. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.
Where it concentrates, on the mapPer 10,000 farmers, by county
And 3 more counties.
H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.
In print
Curtis in American newspapers,
1885–1962.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,341,699 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Curtis,
with a public archive behind them.
-
John Curtis 1778–1860 -
Lucius Curtis 1786–1869 · naval officer -
James O. Curtis 1804–1890 -
Samuel Curtis 1805–1866 · lawyer -
Benjamin Robbins Curtis 1809–1874 · judge
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 238 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Curtis.
When the index is not enough
This page says where Curtis 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.