Where did the name Curtis come from? What is their coat of arms? When did the Curtis family first arrive in the United States? Where did the various branches of the family go? What is the history of the family name?

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Curtis Coat of Arms and Name History

Curtis

Origin Displayed: Italian

Origins Available: English, Italian

Spelling variations of this family name include: Curti

Suggested Readings for the name Curtis
"Ancestors and Descendants of James Curtis of Bristol, Maine, and Noah Curtis of Woodstock, Maine" by Harold Curtis Pickwick, "A Family Named Curtis: Descendants of Thomas Curtis of Wethersfield, Connecticut, 1598-1982" by Rose Mary Goodwin.

Some noteworthy people of the name Curtis

George Ticknor Curtis (1812-1894), American author and lawyer
Ann Elisabeth Curtis (b. 1926), American Olympic medal winning swimmer
Edward S Curtis (1868-1952), American photographer, best known for his photographs of North American Indians
Charles Curtis (1860-1936), American politician, U.S. Vice-President from 1929-1933
George William Curtis (1824-1892), American man of letters
Charles Gordon Curtis (1860-1953), American inventor
George Gordon Curtis (1815-1872), American soldier
Jamie Lee Curtis (b. 1958), American movie actress.
Sir Len Curtis, Mayor of Melbourne, Australia
Tony Curtis (b. 1946), Welsh poet
Samuel Ryan Curtis (1805-1866), American, Union army officer and engineer

Tell Me More About Coat of Arms

View Armorial History with Coat of Arms Guided Tour
Bibliography - References used for our surname histories
View sample history for: Donovan, Gauthier, Kowalski, MacGregor, Perelli, Schmidt
Coats of Arms: History
Coats of Arms: the Heraldic Artist
Coats of Arms: Timeline
Coats of Arms: Elements
Family Crests and Genealogy: how they relate

Learn More About Italian Surnames

RENAISSANCE

The Renaissance was a great rebirth of Classical art, literature, and science. It began in the Italian city-state of Florence in the 14th century and it was characterized by the spread of humanism and the beginning of objective scientific inquiry. Wealthy Florentine merchants and bankers such as the powerful Medici family, saw themselves as the heirs of the great figures of the ancient Roman Empire. Many of these families became the lavish patrons of artists and scholars in order to increase their own prestige and secure political power.