Curtis
Curtis was given to 232 boys in 2025, #985 among boys’ names; 262,876 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 173,000 Americans named Curtis and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (66% of everyone recorded); the median is 56 years old and half are between 39 and 67.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Curtis by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Curtis mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Curtis is “a male given name transferred from the surname.” Its etymology gives the sense “polite, courteous” (courtois).
From Old French corteis and curteis (Modern French courtois (“polite, courteous”). Doublet of courteous.
/ˈkɝtɪs/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Curtis?
#985 among boys’ names, 2025
Curtis fell from #528 in 2015 to #985 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.28 to 0.14 per 1,000.
5,602 babies in 1962, the peak
Curtis peaked in 1962, when 5,602 babies were given it (5,569 boys, #73 among boys’ names). The 232 births of 2025 are 4% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 232 | #985 | 0.14 |
| 2024 | 249 | #930 | 0.14 |
| 2023 | 257 | #905 | 0.15 |
| 2022 | 302 | #821 | 0.17 |
| 2021 | 317 | #780 | 0.18 |
| 2020 | 361 | #703 | 0.21 |
| 2019 | 393 | #669 | 0.22 |
| 2018 | 438 | #615 | 0.24 |
| 2017 | 431 | #612 | 0.23 |
| 2016 | 508 | #563 | 0.27 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 542 | #528 | 0.28 |
| 2014 | 525 | #530 | 0.27 |
| 2013 | 585 | #475 | 0.31 |
| 2012 | 625 | #442 | 0.33 |
| 2011 | 624 | #437 | 0.33 |
| 2010 | 652 | #424 | 0.34 |
| 2009 | 767 | #391 | 0.39 |
| 2008 | 809 | #380 | 0.40 |
| 2007 | 953 | #335 | 0.46 |
| 2006 | 916 | #339 | 0.45 |
| 2005 | 960 | #327 | 0.48 |
| 2004 | 950 | #322 | 0.48 |
| 2003 | 907 | #326 | 0.46 |
| 2002 | 1,024 | #291 | 0.53 |
| 2001 | 1,124 | #273 | 0.58 |
| 2000 | 1,240 | #265 | 0.63 |
| 1999 | 1,270 | #249 | 0.66 |
| 1998 | 1,408 | #226 | 0.74 |
| 1997 | 1,496 | #208 | 0.79 |
| 1996 | 1,645 | #191 | 0.87 |
| 1995 | 1,709 | #183 | 0.90 |
| 1994 | 1,869 | #170 | 1.0 |
| 1993 | 2,097 | #153 | 1.1 |
| 1992 | 2,321 | #142 | 1.2 |
| 1991 | 2,590 | #126 | 1.3 |
| 1990 | 2,800 | #121 | 1.4 |
| 1989 | 2,965 | #111 | 1.5 |
| 1988 | 2,907 | #105 | 1.5 |
| 1987 | 2,909 | #100 | 1.6 |
| 1986 | 2,910 | #100 | 1.6 |
| 1985 | 2,943 | #98 | 1.6 |
| 1984 | 2,959 | #96 | 1.6 |
| 1983 | 2,847 | #100 | 1.6 |
| 1982 | 2,940 | #101 | 1.6 |
| 1981 | 3,198 | #94 | 1.8 |
| 1980 | 3,332 | #89 | 1.9 |
| 1979 | 3,200 | #91 | 1.9 |
| 1978 | 2,825 | #96 | 1.7 |
| 1977 | 2,605 | #100 | 1.6 |
| 1976 | 2,451 | #105 | 1.6 |
| 1975 | 2,327 | #113 | 1.5 |
| 1974 | 2,589 | #98 | 1.6 |
| 1973 | 2,690 | #98 | 1.7 |
| 1972 | 3,080 | #92 | 1.9 |
| 1971 | 3,426 | #89 | 1.9 |
| 1970 | 3,615 | #88 | 1.9 |
| 1969 | 3,675 | #81 | 2.1 |
| 1968 | 3,855 | #75 | 2.2 |
| 1967 | 3,966 | #77 | 2.3 |
| 1966 | 4,242 | #75 | 2.4 |
| 1965 | 4,687 | #75 | 2.5 |
| 1964 | 5,064 | #75 | 2.5 |
| 1963 | 5,376 | #72 | 2.6 |
| 1962 | 5,569 | #73 | 2.7 |
| 1961 | 5,447 | #75 | 2.6 |
| 1960 | 5,363 | #79 | 2.5 |
| 1959 | 5,536 | #75 | 2.6 |
| 1958 | 5,261 | #82 | 2.5 |
| 1957 | 5,342 | #80 | 2.5 |
| 1956 | 5,157 | #80 | 2.4 |
| 1955 | 4,981 | #79 | 2.4 |
| 1954 | 4,594 | #84 | 2.3 |
| 1953 | 4,353 | #86 | 2.2 |
| 1952 | 4,175 | #86 | 2.1 |
| 1951 | 3,716 | #91 | 2.0 |
| 1950 | 3,209 | #97 | 1.8 |
| 1949 | 3,088 | #97 | 1.7 |
| 1948 | 3,091 | #101 | 1.8 |
| 1947 | 3,037 | #99 | 1.7 |
| 1946 | 2,723 | #99 | 1.7 |
| 1945 | 2,393 | #97 | 1.8 |
| 1944 | 2,465 | #97 | 1.8 |
| 1943 | 2,525 | #100 | 1.8 |
| 1942 | 2,420 | #98 | 1.8 |
| 1941 | 2,164 | #100 | 1.8 |
| 1940 | 2,103 | #97 | 1.8 |
| 1939 | 2,012 | #98 | 1.8 |
| 1938 | 2,002 | #101 | 1.8 |
| 1937 | 1,790 | #109 | 1.7 |
| 1936 | 1,797 | #107 | 1.7 |
| 1935 | 1,753 | #108 | 1.7 |
| 1934 | 1,844 | #103 | 1.8 |
| 1933 | 1,679 | #107 | 1.7 |
| 1932 | 1,775 | #103 | 1.7 |
| 1931 | 1,635 | #108 | 1.6 |
| 1930 | 1,721 | #106 | 1.6 |
| 1929 | 1,946 | #99 | 1.8 |
| 1928 | 1,920 | #101 | 1.7 |
| 1927 | 1,590 | #118 | 1.4 |
| 1926 | 1,626 | #112 | 1.5 |
| 1925 | 1,520 | #118 | 1.4 |
| 1924 | 1,529 | #117 | 1.3 |
| 1923 | 1,538 | #116 | 1.4 |
| 1922 | 1,547 | #113 | 1.4 |
| 1921 | 1,479 | #122 | 1.3 |
| 1920 | 1,443 | #120 | 1.4 |
| 1919 | 1,346 | #120 | 1.4 |
| 1918 | 1,335 | #123 | 1.3 |
| 1917 | 1,243 | #121 | 1.3 |
| 1916 | 1,174 | #120 | 1.3 |
| 1915 | 1,058 | #128 | 1.2 |
| 1914 | 915 | #120 | 1.4 |
| 1913 | 676 | #119 | 1.3 |
| 1912 | 566 | #121 | 1.3 |
| 1911 | 321 | #118 | 1.4 |
| 1910 | 277 | #114 | 1.4 |
| 1909 | 244 | #114 | 1.5 |
| 1908 | 203 | #123 | 1.3 |
| 1907 | 208 | #115 | 1.4 |
| 1906 | 177 | #121 | 1.3 |
| 1905 | 182 | #118 | 1.4 |
| 1904 | 144 | #139 | 1.1 |
| 1903 | 138 | #136 | 1.2 |
| 1902 | 129 | #145 | 1.1 |
| 1901 | 114 | #143 | 1.1 |
| 1900 | 144 | #147 | 1.0 |
| 1899 | 103 | #149 | 1.0 |
| 1898 | 128 | #139 | 1.0 |
| 1897 | 102 | #154 | 0.90 |
| 1896 | 107 | #155 | 0.89 |
| 1895 | 89 | #179 | 0.76 |
| 1894 | 88 | #171 | 0.76 |
| 1893 | 80 | #182 | 0.71 |
| 1892 | 83 | #188 | 0.68 |
| 1891 | 62 | #201 | 0.61 |
| 1890 | 86 | #164 | 0.77 |
| 1889 | 67 | #195 | 0.61 |
| 1888 | 89 | #169 | 0.74 |
| 1887 | 61 | #196 | 0.60 |
| 1886 | 72 | #189 | 0.65 |
| 1885 | 70 | #187 | 0.65 |
| 1884 | 73 | #187 | 0.64 |
| 1883 | 53 | #206 | 0.51 |
| 1882 | 70 | #188 | 0.62 |
| 1881 | 72 | #168 | 0.71 |
| 1880 | 68 | #186 | 0.62 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Curtis a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Curtis has been given almost only to boys: 2,322 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Curtis: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Curtis, and how old are they?
173,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 66% of the 262,876 Americans ever recorded as Curtis. The median Curtis alive today is 56 years old; half are between 39 and 67.
The 2020 Census counted 159,667 people named Curtis (401 women and girls, 159,266 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 187,031 born in the U.S. The Census count is 15% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 7,700 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 58,400 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 46,500 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 39,700 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 15,400 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 5,100 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Curtis born?
The states with the most babies named Curtis are Texas, California and Georgia, with 18% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 18,791 | #1,225 | 1.1× |
| California | 16,795 | #1,313 | 0.7× |
| Georgia | 11,290 | #865 | 1.6× |
| Illinois | 11,122 | #818 | 0.8× |
| North Carolina | 10,672 | #1,051 | 1.4× |
| Ohio | 10,208 | #1,037 | 0.8× |
| Pennsylvania | 9,873 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Alabama | 9,492 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| New York | 9,331 | #1,227 | 0.4× |
| Virginia | 9,266 | #897 | 1.6× |
Where Curtis is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Curtis is most over-represented in Mississippi: since 1910 it was given 2.2 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Curtis with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 5 names spelled alike, given to 286,420 babies since 1880, Curtis is the most given (92% of them). In 2025 it was given to 232 of their 279 babies (83%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Curtis
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Curtis and names like it
- Compare Curtis and KurtisBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sCurtis peaked in 1962.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Curtis since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Curtis: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1962The year the most babies were named Curtis.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Curtis alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with CMost given first.