Courtney

The name stems from the Old French place name Courtenay, derived from the Latin curtus, meaning short. It crossed the Channel after the Norman Conquest as a regional surname before traveling across the Atlantic. American parents used it almost exclusively for boys throughout the late nineteenth century, then shifted course entirely during the 1970s.

The name reads like a locker slammed shut on a Friday afternoon and a zippered binder organized by color. Hearing it today brings to mind someone born right around 1990 who learned touch-typing on a beige desktop monitor. With an estimated average age of thirty-six, a Courtney is old enough to remember dial-up tones and young enough to manage digital spreadsheets with quiet irritation. She is pictured as the person who owns a label maker and keeps fresh batteries in the drawer.