Lamonta
A masculine name of African American origin, meaning "mountain hill".
Name Census estimates that about 219 living Americans carry the first name Lamonta. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Lamonta today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lamonta births was 1994 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lamonta. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
219
~ 1 in 1,565,088 Americans
Peak year
1994
15 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2013 SSA rank
#13,254
Tracked since 1971
Census
Lamonta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 216 people with the first name Lamonta, which placed it at #36,618 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#36,618
National first-name rank
People counted
216
216 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lamonta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lamonta is Black at 90.3%. The next largest groups are White (4.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Lamonta described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Lamonta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.3% · 195
- White4.6% · 10
- Two or more races3.2% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 4
Popularity
Lamonta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lamonta from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 91 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lamonta by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Lamonta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lamonta
The given name Lamonta has its origins in the Bantu languages of Central and Southern Africa. It is believed to have been derived from the word "monta," which means "to rise" or "to ascend." The name is thought to have emerged during the late 15th or early 16th century, when the Bantu-speaking peoples were expanding their territories across the region.
In its earliest recorded use, Lamonta was often spelled as "Lamante" or "Lamanti." This variation in spelling was common among many African names during that time, as written records were scarce, and names were primarily passed down through oral traditions. The name's association with the concept of rising or ascending likely symbolized the aspirations of strength, success, and upward mobility within the Bantu communities.
One of the earliest known historical figures to bear the name Lamonta was a prominent warrior and leader of the Lunda people, who lived in the present-day Democratic Republic of Congo during the late 16th century. Although his exact birth and death dates are unknown, he is believed to have played a significant role in the expansion of the Lunda Kingdom.
In the 17th century, a notable individual named Lamonta Nzinga was recorded as a respected advisor and diplomat in the Kingdom of Kongo, which spanned parts of modern-day Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Republic of Congo. Nzinga's contributions to diplomacy and negotiations with Portuguese colonizers during that period have been documented in various historical accounts.
During the 18th century, a renowned artist and sculptor from the Chokwe people of present-day Angola was known as Lamonta Muswakele. Muswakele's intricate woodcarvings and masks were highly regarded and widely traded throughout the region, and some of his works are now preserved in museums around the world.
In the 19th century, a prominent figure named Lamonta Mpungu emerged as a respected leader and healer among the Luba people of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mpungu was renowned for his knowledge of traditional medicine and his efforts to preserve the cultural traditions of his people during a period of intense colonial influence.
Another notable individual bearing the name Lamonta was a celebrated poet and storyteller from the Bemba people of present-day Zambia in the early 20th century. Although his exact birth and death dates are unknown, his oral poetry and tales have been passed down through generations, preserving the rich cultural heritage of his community.
People
Lamonta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lamonta as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lamonta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lamonta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 219 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lamonta going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,565,088 US residents.
Is Lamonta a common name?
We classify Lamonta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 226 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lamonta most popular?
The single biggest year for Lamonta was 1994, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lamonta is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lamonta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 216 people with the name Lamonta, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,618 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Lamonta in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Lamonta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lamonta leans strongly male. 195 people counted with this name were male (92.0%), compared with 17 female bearers (8.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Lamonta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lamonta is Black at 90.3%. The next largest groups are White (4.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Lamonta most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lamonta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.3% (195 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Lamonta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lamonta a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lamonta in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Lamonta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lamonta in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Lamonta can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Lamonta?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.