Courtney is from the Old French *court nez* ("short nose") or *courtenay* (a Norman place name) — used as a surname-to-first-name in 19th-century England and adopted as a feminine given name in 20th-century America. **A top-50 US baby name from 1985 to 2002, peaking at #18 in 1990**. **Courteney Cox (born 1964)** — **American actress; played Monica Geller on NBC's *Friends* (1994-2004) for ten seasons — the highest-rated US sitcom of its decade**; also Gale Weathers in the *Scream* franchise (1996, 1997, 2000, 2011, 2022, 2023, 2025); *Cougar Town* (2009-2015). **Courtney Love (born 1964)** — American singer-songwriter; founded the alternative rock band Hole (1989-2002); the band's *Live Through This* (1994) is on *Rolling Stone*'s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. **Widow of Kurt Cobain**. **Courtney B. Vance** is male (Tony, Emmy). **Courtney Stodden** — American media personality. **Courtney Vandersloot** — WNBA point guard; all-time WNBA single-game assists leader.
Featured throughout 1990s-2020s American culture.
Courtney reduces to one — the number of Friends.