Named after Oloff Van Cortlandt and his family, who owned the land.
Van Cortlandt arrived in New Amsterdam in 1637, became a rich brewer and was burgomaster from 1655 to 1666; the street was laid out on his land. His son Stephanus was mayor of New York in 1677–1678 and 1686–1688, the city’s first native-born mayor, and Stephanus’s brother Jacobus also served as mayor. The street first appears on a map showing the city in 1732–35.