Curtis

Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin from the Old French curteis (Modern French courtois) which ultimately derived from the Spanish Cortés and the Portuguese and Galician Cardoso. The name means "polite, courteous, or well-bred".[1] It is a compound of curt- ″court″ and -eis ″-ish″.[2] The spelling u to render [u] in Old French was mainly Anglo-Norman and Norman, when the spelling o [u] was the usual Parisian French one, Modern French ou [u]. -eis is the Old French suffix for -ois, Western French (including Anglo-Norman) keeps -eis, simplified -is in English. The word court shares the same etymology but retains a Modern French spelling, after the orthography had changed.[3]

Curtis
GenderMale
Origin
Word/nameAnglo-Norman
MeaningPolite, Courteous, Well-Bred
Other names
Usage"English"
Related namesKertész, Kurt, Cortez, Carson,

It was brought to England (and subsequently, the rest of the Isles) via the Norman Conquest. In the United Kingdom, the name Curtis was at its height in 1996, when it was the 78th most popular boy's name in England and Wales. Curtis was the 72nd most popular boy's name in 1963 in the United States, but has declined in popularity there since.

Many Hungarian immigrants in English-speaking countries with the last name Kertész have adopted the name Curtis, since it is pronounced similarly and helped them integrate into their new community. The Spanish version of this surname is Cortés or Cortez.

Surname uses: Curtis

People

Fictional characters

  • Randall Curtis, character on The Simpsons based on George Lucas
  • Rey Curtis, character on Law & Order
  • Izumi Curtis, character in Fullmetal Alchemist
  • Three brothers on The Outsiders (U.S. TV series), Ponyboy Curtis (the shows narrator), Sodapop Curtis and Darrel "Darry" Curtis
  • Jackson Curtis and Kate Curtis, fictional characters from 2012 (film)

Surname uses: Curtis

People

Given name uses: Curtis

People

Fictional characters

  • Curtis Manning, fictional character played by Jamaican-Canadian actor Roger Cross as part of the television series 24
  • Curtis Wilkins, fictional character from the comic strip Curtis
  • Curtis (Stargate), recurring character in Stargate Universe
  • Curtis Holt (Arrowverse), fictional character in Arrow on CW as Mister Terrific played by Actor Echo Kellum
  • Curtis Donovan, fictional character played by actor Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as part of the UK television series Misfits

Middle name uses: Curtis

See also

References

  1. Percy Hide Reaney, Richard Middlewood Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames (1991), p. 121
  2. CNRTL Etymologie de Courtois CNRTL (in French)
  3. T. F. Hoad, English Etymology, Oxford University Press paperbook 1993. p. 101a
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.