Cortés (Castilian, Galician, Valencian), Cortês (Portuguese), Cortès (Catalan) is a surname of Spanish and Portuguese origin, respectively. The surname derived from the Old French corteis or curteis, meaning 'courteous' or 'polite',^[1] and is related to the English Curtis.

The surname has become more frequent among Romani people in Spain than among the general Spanish population.^[2]

Notable people surnamed either Cortes or Cortés include:

• Hernán Cortés, (1485-1547), Spanish conquistador

• Armand Cortes (1880–1948), American actor
• Fernando Cortés (1909–1979), Puerto Rican actor
• Fred Cortes (1921–1964), Filipino actor
• Mapita Cortés (1939–2006), Puerto Rican actress
• Mapy Cortés (1910–1998), Puerto Rican actress
• Irene Cortes (artist) (born 1979), filmmaker and artist

• Aracy Cortes (1904–1985), Brazilian singer
• Carlos Núñez Cortés (born 1942), Argentine musician
• Edmundo Villani-Côrtes (born 1930), Brazilian musical artist
• Garðar Thór Cortes (born 1974), Icelandic tenor
• Getúlio Côrtes (born 1938), Brazilian musical artist
• Lula Côrtes (1949–2011), Brazilian musician
• Montse Cortés (born 1972), Spanish flamenco singer
• Pamela Cortes, Ecuadorian singer, actress and dancer
• Ramiro Cortés (1933–1984), American composer
• Santiago Cortés (musician), Latino-Swiss musician and composer
• Sergio Iván Esquivel Cortés (1946–2021), Mexican singer-songwriter
• Rodrigo Cortés (born 1973), Spanish film director, film producer, screenwriter and film editor
• Tony Cortes (born 1968), Cuban American actor and TV host
• Yara Cortes (1921–2002), Brazilian actress

• Alfonso Cortés (1893–1969), Nicaraguan poet
• Ana Cortés (1895–1998), Chilean painter
• Bernardo Cortés (1934–2017), Spanish writer, humorist, singer and songwriter
• Carmina Useros Cortés (1928–2017), Spanish author
• Édouard Cortès (1882-1969) French Post-Impressionist painter
• Esperanza Cortes (born 1957), American visual artist
• Gustavo Couttolenc Cortés (1921–2015), Mexican writer and academic
• Jesús Carranza Cortés, Mexican potter
• Joaquín Cortés (born 1969), Spanish flamenco dancer
• Liliana Angulo Cortés (born 1974), Colombian visual artist
• Ney Yépez Cortés (born 1968), Ecuadorian writer
• Ricardo Cortés (illustrator) (born 1973), illustrator and author
• Sonya Cortés (born 1962), Puerto Rican entertainer

• Adriana Fuentes Cortés (born 1968), Mexican politician
• Alberto Baltra Cortés (1912–1981), Chilean politician and economist
• Altineu Côrtes (born 1968), Brazilian politician and businessman
• Bob Cortes (born 1963), politician in the Florida House of Representatives
• David Cortés (politician) (1955–2015), Bolivian politician
• David Bonilla Cortés (born 1974), Puerto Rican politician
• Hilario Sánchez Cortés (born 1957), Mexican politician
• John Cortes (Gibraltarian politician), member of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party
• John Cortes (Florida politician) (born 1961), politician in the Florida House of Representatives
• Jonas Cortes (born 1966), Filipino politician
• José Cortés López (1883–1958), Spanish magistrate and politician
• Judith Pallarés i Cortés (born 1972), Andorran politician
• León Cortés Castro (1882–1946), Costa Rica politician
• Luz Virginia Cortés (born 1976), Mexican politician
• Manuel Cortés Quero (1906-1991), Spanish politician
• Mario Mendoza Cortés (1968–2015), Mexican politician
• Pedro Cortés (born 1966), Puerto Rican politician
• Rosalío Cortés (1820–1884), 35th President of Nicaragua
• Santiago Pedro Cortés (born 1954), Mexican politician
• Sara Isabel Castellanos Cortés (born 1946), Mexican politician
• Yulenny Cortés León (born 1976), Mexican politician

• Aurelio Cortés (1904–?), Cuban catcher in the Negro baseball leagues
• Carlos Cortes (born 1997), American baseball player
• Dan Cortes (born 1987), American baseball player
• David Cortés (baseball) (born 1983), Mexican baseball player
• Nestor Cortés Jr. (born 1994), Cuban-American baseball pitcher

• Adrián Cortés (born 1983), Mexican footballer
• Ascanio Cortés (1914–1998), Chilean footballer
• Brandon Cortés (born 2001), Argentine-Chilean footballer
• Brayan Cortés (born 1995), Chilean footballer
• Bruno Cortês (born 1987), Brazilian footballer
• Bryan Cortés (born 1991), Chilean footballer
• César Cortés (born 1984), Chilean footballer
• David Cortés (Colombian footballer) (born 1992), Colombian footballer
• David Cortés (Spanish footballer) (born 1979), Spanish footballer
• Deyman Cortés (born 2000), Colombian footballer
• Diego Cortés (born 1998), Mexican footballer
• Eduardo Cortes (born 1993), Mexican footballer
• Efraín Cortés (born 1984), Colombian footballer
• Fabián Núñez Cortés (born 1992), Chilean footballer
• Félix Cortés (born 1989), Chilean footballer
• Fernando Cortés (footballer) (born 1988), Mexican footballer
• Fran Cortés (born 1986), Spanish footballer
• Gerardo Cortés (born 1988), a Chilean footballer
• Gilberto Cortés (born 1995), Colombian footballer
• Javier Cortés (born 1989), Mexican footballer
• José Cortés (footballer) (born 1994), Colombian footballer
• Julio César Cortés (born 1941), Uruguayan footballer and coach
• Kevin Manzano Cortés (born 1999), Spanish footballer
• Martín Miguel Cortés (born 1983), Argentine footballer
• Maurício Cortés (born 1997), Colombian footballer
• Nilson Cortes (born 1977), Colombian footballer
• Oriol Cortes (born 1989), Spanish footballer
• Óscar Cortés (footballer, born 1968 or 1970), Colombian footballer
• Rafael García Cortés (born 1958), Spanish footballer
• Ramiro Cortés (footballer) (1931–2016), Chilean footballer
• Ranulfo Cortés (born 1934), Mexican footballer
• Roberto Cortés (Chilean footballer) (1902–1975), Chilean football goalkeeper
• Roberto Carlos Cortés (born 1977), Colombian football defender
• Róger Cortés (born 2000), Costa Rican footballer
• Santiago Cortés (footballer) (1945–2011), El Salvadoran footballer
• Víctor Cortés (born 1976), Colombian footballer
• Walter Cortés (born 2000), Costa Rican footballer

• Alejandro Cortés (born 1977), Colombian road cyclist
• Beatriz Gómez Cortés (born 1994), Spanish Olympic swimmer
• Cecelia Cortes (born 1989), professional squash player
• Federico Cortés (born 1937), Argentine cyclist
• Gaston Cortes (born 1985), Argentinian international rugby union player
• Gerardo Cortes Sr. (1928–?), a Chilean modern pentathlete
• Gerardo Cortes Jr. (born 1959), a Chilean modern pentathlete, and son of Gerardo Cortes Sr.
• Jaime Cortés (born 1964), Colombian tennis player
• Jesús Iglesias Cortés (born 1968), Spanish swimmer
• Máximo Cortés (born 1988), Spanish racing driver
• Omar Cortés (born 1977), Spanish gymnast
• Onix Cortés (born 1988), Cuban judoka
• Peter Cortes (born 1947), American rower
• Phil Cortes (born 1982), Canadian racing cyclist
• Ramiro Cortés (basketball) (1931–1977), Uruguayan basketball player
• Ricardo Cortés (born 1980), Mexican boxer
• Sergio Cortés (born 1968), Chilean tennis player

• Beltrán Cortés (1908–1984), Costa Rican murderer
• Corinna Cortes (born 1961), Danish computer scientist
• Enric Cortès (born 1939), Catalan Capuchin and biblical scholar
• Ernesto Cortes, American community activist
• Irene Cortes (1921–1996), Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
• Jorge Cortés, Spanish academic engineer
• José Cortés de Madariaga (1766-1826), Chilean patriot
• José Muñoz Cortés (1948–1997), Greek clergyman
• Juan Donoso Cortés (1809-1853), Spanish counter-revolutionary, author, and theologian
• Luis G. Cortes, Spanish chess player
• Manuel Cortes (born 1967), British trade unionist
• Margarita Letelier Cortés, Chilean entrepreneur
• Martín Cortés de Albacar (1510–1582), Spanish cosmographer
• Martín Cortés (son of Malinche) (1523–?), son of Hernán Cortés and La Malinche
• Martín Cortés, 2nd Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca (1532–1589), Spanish noble, son of Hernán Cortes
• Oralia Garza de Cortes, librarian, advocate, and bibliographer
• Xavier Cortés Rocha (born 1943), Mexican architect and former rector of the UNAM

• Cortes (disambiguation)
• Cortese (surname)
• Cortez (disambiguation)
• Courtois (disambiguation)

Surname list

This page lists people with the surname Cortes.
If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.