Cortez

Cortez is a Spanish surname name connected with the word for courteous or polite. Like many surnames derived from descriptive nicknames, it began with a quality associated with a person and later became an inherited family name. Its use as a first name carries that surname history forward in a strong, compact form.

Cortes and the accented spelling Cortés are closely related forms. The name also has a prominent historical association with Hernán Cortés, whose role in the Spanish conquest of Mexico can be significant to how it is received. For families considering Cortez, both the positive word meaning and that complicated historical connection are useful parts of the picture, especially when the name is not an inherited family surname.