Monta
A unisex name, likely Scandinavian or Finnish in origin, potentially meaning "mountain dweller".
Name Census estimates that about 760 living Americans carry the first name Monta. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 64.8% of registrations being female. The average person named Monta today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Monta births was 1980 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Monta. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Monta with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Monta was once a predominantly female name but has become increasingly popular for boys in recent decades.
- • Monta sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
People living today
760
~ 1 in 450,993 Americans
Peak year
1980
29 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2020 SSA rank
#12,882
Tracked since 1891
Census
Monta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 887 people with the first name Monta, which placed it at #13,570 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
#13,570
National first-name rank
People counted
887
887 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
50.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Monta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Monta is White at 50.2%. The next largest groups are Black (36.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.7%). 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 Monta 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 Monta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.2% · 445
- Black or African American36.9% · 327
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.7% · 42
- Two or more races4.5% · 40
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Monta
Monta is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,399 total registrations, 492 (35.2%) were male and 907 (64.8%) were female.
Monta as a male name
- Ranked #13,415 in 2020
- 5 male births in 2020
- Peak: 1978 (24 births)
Monta as a female name
- Ranked #12,882 in 1994
- 6 female births in 1994
- Peak: 1952 (26 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Monta on both sides of the split. Of the 884 people counted with this name, 382 were male (43.2%) and 502 were female (56.8%).
Popularity
Monta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Monta from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 180 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Monta 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 Monta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Montas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma recorded the most babies named Monta, while Oklahoma, Georgia, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Monta
The name Monta has its origins in the Indian subcontinent, with roots that can be traced back to the Sanskrit language. It is believed to have derived from the Sanskrit word "mani," which means "jewel" or "gem." The name's earliest known usage dates back to ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, where it was often associated with precious stones and their symbolic significance in various spiritual and cultural contexts.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Monta can be found in the Mahabharata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. Here, it appears as a reference to a particularly valuable and radiant gemstone, highlighting the name's connection to beauty, rarity, and preciousness.
Throughout Indian history, several notable figures have borne the name Monta. One such individual was Monta Singh (1685-1753), a renowned warrior and military leader who played a pivotal role in the defense of the Sikh empire against invading forces during the 18th century. His bravery and strategic prowess earned him a place in the annals of Sikh history.
Another notable bearer of the name was Monta Devi (1498-1567), a celebrated poet and mystic from the Bhakti movement in medieval India. Her devotional compositions, known as "bhajans," are revered to this day and have influenced generations of spiritual seekers and artists alike.
In the realm of literature, Monta Ranjan Bhattacharya (1902-1964) was a prominent Bengali novelist and short story writer. His works, which explored themes of social injustice and human relationships, left a lasting impact on the literary landscape of Bengal and garnered critical acclaim.
Moving beyond the Indian subcontinent, the name Monta has also found its way into other cultures and languages. In the West African nation of Mali, for instance, the name Monta is sometimes used as a variation of the more common name "Monta," which is derived from the Bambara language and means "to embrace" or "to enfold."
Additionally, in certain Native American cultures, the name Monta has been associated with concepts of strength, resilience, and connection to the natural world. For example, among the Hopi people of the southwestern United States, the name Monta has been used to honor individuals who embodied these qualities.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Monta
People
Monta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Monta 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
Monta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Monta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 760 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Monta 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 450,993 US residents.
Is Monta a common name?
We classify Monta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,399 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Monta most popular?
The single biggest year for Monta was 1980, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Monta is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Monta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 887 people with the name Monta, or 0.29 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,570 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 Monta 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 Monta?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Monta on both sides of the split. Of the 884 people counted with this name, 382 were male (43.2%) and 502 were female (56.8%). 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 Monta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Monta is White at 50.2%. The next largest groups are Black (36.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.7%). 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 Monta most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Monta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.2% (445 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 Monta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Monta a female name?
Yes, 64.8% of people registered as Monta 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 Monta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Monta 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 Monta 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 Monta?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Monta, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.