Montez
Feminine
Montez is given to both — 737 girls and 3,205 boys since 1880. See Montez as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Montez is a Spanish surname recorded here for boys and girls alike. Its most spectacular bearer was not Spanish at all: she was born in Ireland, invented the identity in her twenties, and got away with it for the rest of her life.
How old is the name Montez?
Montez first appears in US birth records in 1907 — 118 years ago. The typical Montez alive today was born around 1930, making them about 95 years old. About 200 people named Montez are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Montez most popular?
Montez peaked in 1917, reaching #1552 nationally. See the whole 1917 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Montez
Eliza Gilbert was born in Limerick, raised partly in India, married badly at sixteen, and reappeared in London as Lola Montez, Spanish dancer. The dancing was not good and the act was, which took her across Europe on the strength of nerve. In Bavaria she became the mistress of the king, was made a countess, took a hand in running the country, and was blamed loudly enough for the unrest that helped push him off the throne. She then went to California, toured Australia, horsewhipped at least two newspaper editors, and ended up lecturing in New York on beauty and on the lives of women. She was thirty-nine when she died.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The Spanish surname is built on the word for a mountain, and that reading is reasonably secure. Whether an American Montez comes from the surname or was built from the sound is not recorded.
Pronouncing Montez
mon-TEZ
Two syllables with the weight on the second. MON-tez, with the stress in front, is also heard.
Nicknames for Montez
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1907
- Most girls named
- 192427 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1552reached in 1917
- Change vs 1986
- −28.6%5 in 1992, from 7
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Montezs among us
people named Montez are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Montez sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Monte comes off the front as a short form and is established in its own right.
- It is read correctly at first sight and rarely needs spelling twice.
- It is recorded for boys and for girls, so it leaves a question open rather than closing it.
- Two stress patterns are in circulation and the spelling settles neither.
- It reads as a surname to most listeners, which suits some families and not others.
- No origin is documented for the first name, so the meaning question has nothing settled behind it.
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Montez
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Montezs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Montez are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Montez in 2025?
- Montez is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Montez with classmates?
- Montez will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Mary#125 · Margaret#112 · Michelle#465 · Melissa#419 · Maria#87 · Martha#712 · Marie#617 · Mildred#1962
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Montez? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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