About The Lyon Family of Lincoln
Both P.H. REANEY in "The Oxford Dictionary of Surnames" and Dr BASIL COTTLE in "The Penguin Dictionary of Surnames" agree that CURTIS derives from the Old French "corties" meaning courteous or well bred. COTTLE states that some variants might come from the Old French for short hose, stockings or breeches. Early examples of the name are: CURTEIS de Capella (Pipe Rolls, Warwickshire 1130), Richard CURTEIS (Pipe Rolls, Bedfordshire 1166) and Robert le CURTEIS (Pipe Rolls, Devonshire 1168).
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