Cortez

Cortez is a Spanish surname derived from the French “corteis” meaning “refined, accomplished”; the surname originated as a nickname for a man of good education and refinement. The English masculine name Curtis comes from the same etymological source. Fernando Cortés was an early 16th century Spanish Conquistador who overthrew the Aztec Empire, defeated their leader Moctezuma and conquered much of Mexico on behalf of Spain. Cortés discovered the Baja California peninsula and so the Gulf of California (a body of water between the peninsula and mainland Mexico) was originally named the Sea of Cortés in 1539. Cortez is a common surname in the United States owing to the large Hispanic-American population. As a first name Cortez has been in use since the 1970s in America. It doesn’t appear to be used as a forename in any other country.