Montoya
Feminine
Montoya is given to both — 520 girls and 119 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Montoya is a Spanish surname, and for many Americans it belongs to one swordsman who never lived: Inigo Montoya of The Princess Bride, whose introduction audiences can recite by heart. As a first name it is given to girls and to boys alike.
How old is the name Montoya?
Montoya first appears in US birth records in 1962 — 63 years ago. The typical Montoya alive today was born around 1985, making them about 40 years old. About 500 people named Montoya are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Montoya most popular?
Montoya peaked in 1985, reaching #3246 nationally. See the whole 1985 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Montoya
Our story of Montoya starts with a line. William Goldman wrote The Princess Bride as a novel in 1973, and in Rob Reiner's film of it Mandy Patinkin's Inigo Montoya, a Spanish fencer hunting the six-fingered man who killed his father, rehearses the same greeting until he finally says it to the right face: Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die. Few surnames have been given a better entrance. As a first name Montoya carries that sound, three open syllables ending on a soft a, and families have given it to daughters and sons.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Montoya is a Spanish surname whose origin is not settled. As a first name it has no separate history.
Pronouncing Montoya
mon-TOY-uh
Spanish says mohn-TOH-yah; English speakers usually say mon-TOY-uh.
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
- 1962
- Most girls named
- 199129 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3246reached in 1985
- Change vs 2002
- −16.7%5 in 2004, from 6
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.
Montoyas among us
people named Montoya 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
Montoya 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
- A name everyone can spell and say on first hearing.
- Its best-known association is a much-loved film hero.
- Works for a girl or a boy, since it comes to both as a surname.
- It reads first as a surname, and people will ask whether it is a family name.
- Most American Montoyas recorded as a first name are girls, but boys receive it too; the name gives no hint of sex, so forms and rosters will guess either way.
- The Princess Bride line will follow it for life, and most people who quote it mean it kindly.
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What they receive
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Montoya
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Montoyas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Montoya are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Montoya in 2025?
- Montoya is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Montoya with classmates?
- Montoya 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 Montoya? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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