Montego
A masculine Spanish name referring to a mountainous region in Jamaica.
Name Census estimates that about 55 living Americans carry the first name Montego. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Montego today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Montego births was 1975 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Montego. 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 Montego. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
55
~ 1 in 6,231,897 Americans
Peak year
1975
9 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,455
Tracked since 1974
Popularity
Montego: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Montego from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 28 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Montego 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 Montego 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 Montego
The name Montego has its origins in the Spanish language and is derived from the word "monte," meaning mountain or hill. It is believed to have originated in the medieval period, possibly as a surname or a topographic name referring to someone who lived near or on a mountain.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Montego can be found in the 16th century, when it was documented as a surname in various Spanish records. However, its transition to a given name is not well documented, and it is unclear when it first became a popular first name.
One notable historical figure with the name Montego was Montego de Salamanca, a Spanish military commander who lived in the 15th century. He played a significant role in the Reconquista, the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors.
Another historical figure was Montego López de Mendoza, a 16th-century Spanish poet and playwright who was part of the Spanish Golden Age literary movement. His works, which included plays and poetry, were influential in shaping the development of Spanish literature.
In the 18th century, Montego Gutiérrez was a Spanish explorer and navigator who participated in several expeditions to the Pacific Ocean. He is credited with mapping and exploring various islands in the region and contributing to the expansion of Spanish colonial influence in the Pacific.
Montego Fernández de Córdoba, a 19th-century Spanish military leader, played a crucial role in the Spanish-American War. He was known for his strategic leadership and his efforts to defend Spanish interests in Cuba during the conflict.
In the 20th century, Montego García Lorca, a renowned Spanish poet and dramatist, became one of the most celebrated figures in Spanish literature. He was part of the Generation of '27, a group of poets and writers who sought to revive and reinvigorate Spanish poetry. García Lorca was executed during the Spanish Civil War in 1936 at the age of 38.
While the name Montego has Spanish roots, it has gained popularity in various parts of the world, particularly in the Caribbean and Latin America. However, its historical significance and earliest recorded uses can be traced back to Spain and the Iberian Peninsula.
People
Montego + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Montego 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
Montego: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Montego?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 55 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Montego 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 6,231,897 US residents.
Is Montego a common name?
We classify Montego as "Very Rare". It ranks above 55.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 58 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Montego most popular?
The single biggest year for Montego was 1975, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Montego is about 38 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 Montego in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Montego a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Montego 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 Montego still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Montego 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 Montego 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 share the name Montego?
You can see how many people share the name Montego on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.