The Curtiss surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,500 people carried this name — #6,217 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 53,800 people counted. That is up 2% from 5,378 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Curtiss surname

Variant of Curtis.

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

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a nickname: ‘the courteous’.

An early record he cites: William le Curteis, Cambridgeshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Curtis, Curtiss and Curtius.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 225 · public domain.

In print

Curtiss in American newspapers,
1910–1926.

Newspaper page from The Producers News carrying the name Curtiss
The Producers News 1926-07-09
Newspaper page from The Producers News carrying the name Curtiss
The Producers News 1926-04-16
Newspaper page from Daily Kennebec Journal carrying the name Curtiss
Daily Kennebec Journal 1910-05-30

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 112,479 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Curtiss in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1980s.

3,253 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Curtiss. The most, 792, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,641
Victoria 729
Queensland 415
South Australia 192
Western Australia 152
Tasmania 98
ACT (Canberra) 9
Northern Territory 7

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Curtiss.

Who carried it

People named Curtiss,
with a public archive behind them.

  • James Curtiss
    James Curtiss 1803–1859 · lawyer
  • Albert Willoughby Curtiss
    Albert Willoughby Curtiss 1820–1893 · politician
  • Floretta Allen Curtiss
    Floretta Allen Curtiss 1822–1899 · botanical collector
  • H. W. Curtiss
    H. W. Curtiss 1824–1902 · politician
  • Emma Curtiss Bascom
    Emma Curtiss Bascom 1828–1916 · suffragette
  • Henry Tomlinson Curtiss 1796–1876

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Curtiss,
in the records of 6 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States602 records

602 records of the Curtiss name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 193
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 189
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 85
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 80
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 39
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 9
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 5
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Jack W. Curtiss

    Born 1914 in Michigan. Enlisted 1942 at Milwaukee, Wisconsin; shipping clerk. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1983, buried at Wood National Cemetery, Wisconsin.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Edwin Harry Curtiss

    Born 1949; from Stockdale, Pennsylvania. U.S. Army, attack helicopter pilot; died in an accident 1970 in Bien Hoa, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Ann Curtiss

    Arrived at New York in 1834 aboard the Ontario from London, aged 19; dressmaker. From England.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 602 records for Curtiss in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia100 records

100 records of the Curtiss name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 67
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 10
  • Tasmanian Names Index 9
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 7
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 6
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record William Curtiss

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Aurora, arriving 1833.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Emily Curtiss

    Arrived in Victoria in 1886 aboard the Orient, aged 22; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Duncan Curtiss

    Retired farmer of Leongatha North, Victoria; died 1991.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 100 records for Curtiss in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada19 records

19 records of the Curtiss name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 11
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 4
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 2
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record E.c Curtiss

    Came to Ontario in 1870 aboard the Prussian, landing at Quebec, bound for Belleville, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Daniel Albert Curtiss

    Buried in 1998 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 82.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Margaret R. Curtiss

    Died 1944 in Glace Bay, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 19 records for Curtiss in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom2 records

2 records of the Curtiss name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. A. Curtiss

    Royal Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record C. Curtiss

    Essex Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

France1 record

1 record of the Curtiss name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Thomas Quinn Curtiss

    Born 1915 in the United States; died 2000 in Poissy (Yvelines).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Curtiss name in the Netherlands Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Eduard Douglas Curtiss

    Died 1967 in Tilburg.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Curtiss.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Curtiss 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.

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