Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin derived from the Old French curteis (Modern French courtois, surname Courtois) which means "polite, courteous, or well-bred". It is a compound of curt- ″court″ and -eis ″-ish″. The spelling u to render [u] in Old French was mainly Anglo-Norman and Norman, when the spelling o [u] was the usual Parisian French one, Modern French ou [u]. -eis is the Old French suffix for -ois, Western French (including Anglo-Norman) keeps -eis, simplified -is in English. The word court shares the same etymology but retains a Modern French spelling, after the orthography had changed.
It was brought to England (and subsequently, the rest of the Isles) via the Norman Conquest.
Many Hungarian immigrants in English speaking countries with the last name Kertész have adopted the name Curtis, since it is pronounced similarly and helped them integrate into their new community.
This is a list of characters in Stargate Universe, an American-Canadian military science fiction serial drama which made its premiere on October 2, 2009 on the Syfy channel.
Nicholas Rush (portrayed by Robert Carlyle) is an expert in Ancient technology. His research was hindered while he was married to Gloria Rush. Since her death, he has become more dedicated to science. He spearheads the Icarus Project, his main priority being to explore the mystery behind the ninth chevron of the Stargate. Rush was stationed at the Icarus Base in 2009, in order to do research on the ninth chevron. During an attack on the base, Rush and Eli Wallace figure out how to dial the ninth chevron, and are responsible for sending the remaining Icarus personnel to an Ancient ship known as the Destiny, a spaceship situated in a far-away galaxy, with no way of returning to Earth. Rush is greatly obsessed with completing Destiny's mission and won't let anyone stop him.