Frequency: (138)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. English: from Old French corde ‘string’, a metonymic occupational name for a maker of cord or string, or a nickname for an habitual wearer of decorative ties and ribbons.
2. French: variant of Couard, a derogatory nickname from Old French couard ‘coward’, ‘poltroon’, a compound of coe ‘tail’ + the pejorative suffix -ard.
GIVEN NAME French 4%. Curley.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
