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Curtis

Boy name · 386 babies recorded · 1974–2025

Curtis: 386 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to boys, peaking at 30 births in 1995.

Curtis springs from the Old French *curteis*, meaning “courteous” or “refined,” and was originally a nickname for someone of polite manners before becoming a given name. Famous bearers include soul legend Curtis Mayfield, whose music defined the civil‑rights era, and NFL Hall‑of‑Famer Curtis Martin. The name also appears in place names such as Curtis Island in Queensland, Australia, and Curtis, Nebraska, though both are usually named after individuals rather than the root word. A notable variant is Kurtis, sometimes used in North America, while in Scotland the name has been steadily popular since the 1970s, occasionally associated with the Scottish clan Curtis—a sept of Clan Mackenzie.