Cortlandt

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A town in Westchester County, New York, situated along the Hudson River ; a personal name given to people or used as a family surname
2. A small community in southeastern New York State near the Hudson ; a first name or family name borne by various people
3. The name of a town in Westchester County in New York ; a personal name or surname carried by individuals in English-speaking countries

Etymology: Cortlandt is most likely a shortened form of the surname Van Cortlandt, that of a prominent family of Dutch origin in colonial New York. The family's estates gave the surrounding land its association with the name, and it was carried forward into place names. The best-known traces remain on the map. The town of Cortlandt in Westchester County and Cortlandt Street in lower Manhattan both descend from the family's landholdings, which is why the spelling appears in New York geography more often than in general English.