Cortez
Spanish surname Cortes, from the adjective cortes, meaning courteous or courtly, originally applied to someone attached to a royal court.
Cortez in 2025
Cortez was given to 101 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 3,509th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 32,825 babies born.
The history of Cortez
Cortez reached its highest point in 1990, when 351 babies were given the name, ranking 1,158th that year.
Across the 144 years of records since 1882, 10,988 babies have been named Cortez. Half of them were born before 1995, which places the name's centre of gravity with Millennials.
Cortez by decade
| Decade | Babies named Cortez | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 5 | 1,807 |
| 1900s | 5 | 3,438 |
| 1910s | 127 | 2,343 |
| 1920s | 147 | 3,581 |
| 1930s | 129 | 3,110 |
| 1940s | 117 | 3,538 |
| 1950s | 228 | 3,083 |
| 1960s | 378 | 2,713 |
| 1970s | 819 | 1,914 |
| 1980s | 1,837 | 1,177 |
| 1990s | 2,674 | 1,158 |
| 2000s | 2,033 | 1,658 |
| 2010s | 1,854 | 1,971 |
| 2020s | 635 | 2,738 |
Where Cortez is heading
Cortez has fallen 47% over the past decade, from 192 babies in 2015 to 101 in 2025.
Names like Cortez
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Cortez.