Monserrath
A feminine Spanish name derived from the Virgin of Montserrat's religious site.
Name Census estimates that about 1,245 living Americans carry the first name Monserrath. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Monserrath today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Monserrath births was 2005 (79 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Monserrath. 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.
Key insights
- • Monserrath is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 275,305 Americans
Peak year
2005
79 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,306
Tracked since 1990
Census
Monserrath in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 847 people with the first name Monserrath, which placed it at #14,029 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
#14,029
National first-name rank
People counted
847
847 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
97.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Monserrath
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Monserrath is Hispanic at 97.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Monserrath 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 Monserrath at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino97.8% · 828
- White1.1% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 8
- Black or African American0.2% · 2
Popularity
Monserrath: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Monserrath from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 597 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Monserrath 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 Monserrath during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Monserraths live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Monserrath, while North Carolina, Georgia, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 105 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Monserrath
The given name Monserrath is derived from the Spanish name Montserrat, which has its origins in the Catalan language spoken in the Catalonia region of Spain. The name is believed to have originated around the late 9th or early 10th century. Montserrat refers to a rugged mountain range near Barcelona, with the name meaning "serrated mountain" or "jagged mountain".
The Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat, located high up in the Montserrat mountain range, has played a significant role in the popularity and spread of the name. This monastery, founded in the late 10th century, is home to a revered Black Madonna statue known as the Virgin of Montserrat, which has been a site of pilgrimage for centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Monserrath dates back to the 13th century, when it was mentioned in historical documents from the Kingdom of Aragon, which included parts of present-day Spain and southern France. Over the centuries, the name has appeared in various spellings, such as Montserrat, Monserrate, and Monserrath.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Monserrath. One example is Monserrath Caballe (1933-2018), a renowned Spanish operatic soprano who was widely acclaimed for her performances in operas by composers like Verdi, Puccini, and Strauss.
Another notable figure is Monserrath Torbio (1900-1991), a Mexican painter and sculptor who was part of the Mexican Muralism movement and known for her artwork depicting indigenous Mexican culture and traditions.
In the realm of literature, Monserrath Fenollosa (1873-1938) was a Spanish-American writer and translator who played a significant role in introducing Japanese literature and art to the Western world through her collaborations with poets like Ezra Pound.
The name Monserrath has also been associated with religious figures, such as Monserrath García Benedetti (1904-1995), a Spanish Catholic nun and missionary who served in various parts of South America and was known for her work with indigenous communities.
Lastly, Monserrath Romero (1927-2015) was a Salvadoran politician and human rights activist who served as a member of the Central American Parliament and was vocal in her advocacy for democracy and social justice in El Salvador.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Monserrath throughout history, showcasing its cultural significance and diverse range of applications across various fields and regions.
People
Monserrath + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Monserrath as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Monserrath: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Monserrath?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,245 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Monserrath 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 275,305 US residents.
Is Monserrath a common name?
We classify Monserrath as "Rare". It ranks above 91.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,260 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Monserrath most popular?
The single biggest year for Monserrath was 2005, when 79 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Monserrath is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Monserrath in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 847 people with the name Monserrath, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,029 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 Monserrath 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 Monserrath?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Monserrath appears almost entirely female. Of the 843 people counted with this name, 99.1% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Monserrath?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Monserrath is Hispanic at 97.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Monserrath most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Monserrath in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.8% (828 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 Monserrath in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Monserrath a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Monserrath in the SSA data are female. 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 Monserrath still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Monserrath 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 Monserrath 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 many people have the name Monserrath?
Find out how many Americans are named Monserrath on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.