Montaye
A masculine name of French origin, derived from the word "mont" meaning mountain or hill.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Montaye. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Montaye today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Montaye births was 2002 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Montaye. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Montaye. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2002
5 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2002 SSA rank
#11,876
Tracked since 2002
Popularity
Montaye: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Montaye 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 Montaye during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Montaye
The name Montaye is believed to have originated in the medieval period, with its roots traced back to the Old French language. It is thought to be derived from the words "mont" meaning "mountain" and "aye" meaning "dwelling place" or "homestead." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a person or family residing in a mountainous region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Montaye can be found in the chronicles of a 13th-century French nobleman, Sir Montaye de Montfort. Born in 1225, he was a prominent figure during the Albigensian Crusade and played a significant role in the siege of several fortified cities in southern France.
In the 15th century, Montaye Leclerc, a renowned French poet and playwright, gained recognition for his works that explored themes of love, nature, and human emotions. He was born in 1432 and his literary contributions were highly regarded during the Renaissance period.
The name Montaye also appears in historical records from the 16th century, with Montaye Dubois, a French explorer and cartographer. Born in 1547, he was among the first Europeans to map the coastline of what is now eastern Canada, contributing to the early exploration and understanding of the region.
Moving forward to the 17th century, Montaye Rousseau, a French philosopher and writer, was born in 1612. He is best known for his influential work "Discourse on Inequality," which critiqued the societal structures and inequalities of his time, and had a significant impact on the intellectual landscape of the Enlightenment era.
Another notable figure bearing the name Montaye was Montaye Delacroix, a French Romantic painter born in 1798. His vibrant and emotionally charged works, such as "Liberty Leading the People" and "The Massacre at Chios," captured the spirit of the Romantic movement and remain celebrated masterpieces in the art world.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who carried the name Montaye, highlighting its rich cultural and linguistic heritage, as well as its presence across various fields and disciplines over the centuries.
People
Montaye + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Montaye 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
Montaye: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Montaye?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Montaye 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Montaye a common name?
We classify Montaye as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Montaye most popular?
The single biggest year for Montaye was 2002, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Montaye is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Montaye in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Montaye a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Montaye 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 Montaye still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Montaye 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 Montaye 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Montaye as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Montaye, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.