Montez
Masculine
Montez is given to both — 3,205 boys and 737 girls since 1880. See Montez as a girl 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 1953 — 72 years ago. The typical Montez alive today was born around 1994, making them about 31 years old. About 3,100 people named Montez are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Montez most popular?
Montez peaked in 1991, reaching #1030 nationally. Today it ranks #4707, 3,677 places below that high. See the whole 1991 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
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
- 1953
- Most boys named
- 1991110 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1030reached in 1991
- Change vs 2024
- −55.3%21 in 2025, from 47
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.
Montez in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: Georgia, Michigan, Missouri.
Montezs among us
people named Montez are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 81,337 born in 2025 was named Montez
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Darel test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Montez's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Darel climbed just as high around 1940, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Darel's path sketches the road Montez is walking now.
Montez sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Montez beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Montez in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
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.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Montez
Masculine · #4707 in the U.S.
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 3,100 people named Montez are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Montez in 2025?
- Montez ranks #4707 among US boy names in 2025, with 21 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Montez?
- About 1 in every 81,337 US boys born in 2025 was named Montez — 21 in all.
- Will my child share the name Montez with classmates?
- Montez will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Montez
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ole#4707 · Shelton#4707 · Constantino#4707 · Adel#4707 · Cord#4707 · Zalman#4707 · Kalani#4707 · Homer#4707
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Montez? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Montez and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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