(Castilian, Galician, Valencian), (Portuguese), (Catalan) is a surname of Spanish and Portuguese origin, respectively. The surname derived from the Old French or , meaning 'courteous' or 'polite', and is related to the English Curtis.
The surname has become more frequent among Romani people in Spain than among the general Spanish population.
Notable people surnamed either Cortes or Cortés include:
Mononymously known as Cortes
Hernán Cortés, (1485-1547), Spanish conquistador
Arts and entertainment
Film and television
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
Music
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
Other arts and entertainment
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
Politics
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
Demetrio Cortes (1921–1993), mayor of Mandaue City, Philippines
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