Named after Jacques Cortelyou, surveyor of New Netherland, or his landholding descendants.
Cortelyou Road honours Jacques Cortelyou (c. 1625–1693) or, according to Forgotten New York, the landholding Cortelyou family descended from him. Born in Utrecht to French Huguenot parents, he came to New Amsterdam as a tutor and became Surveyor General of New Netherland; in 1660 he made a map of New Amsterdam, now known as the Castello Plan. He also had a hand in founding New Utrecht.