NameCensus.
Rare

Montgomery

A masculine French name meaning "mountain town" or "hill town".

Name Census estimates that about 5,261 living Americans carry the first name Montgomery. It is a predominantly male name (91.2% of registrations). The average person named Montgomery today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Montgomery births was 2023 (245 babies).

This page is the full Name Census profile for Montgomery. 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

5.3K

~ 1 in 65,150 Americans

Peak year

2023

245 babies that year

Average age

27

years old

2024 SSA rank

#1,090

Tracked since 1880

Gender

Gender distribution for Montgomery

Montgomery leans heavily male at 91.2% of total registrations, but 527 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.

91% male
Male5,459 (91.2%)Female527 (8.8%)

Montgomery as a male name

  • Ranked #1,090 in 2024
  • 199 male births in 2024
  • Peak: 2023 (210 births)

Montgomery as a female name

  • Ranked #6,071 in 2024
  • 20 female births in 2024
  • Peak: 2020 (42 births)

Popularity

Montgomery: popularity over time

The SSA tracks Montgomery from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,282 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.

Babies born per year

MaleFemale
06112318424518801900192019401960198020002020

Decades

Montgomery 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 Montgomery during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.

DecadeMaleFemaleTotal
1880s28028
1890s25025
1900s26026
1910s1230123
1920s1270127
1930s81081
1940s1520152
1950s4310431
1960s5790579
1970s2860286
1980s2690269
1990s46653519
2000s750137887
2010s1,1081741,282
2020s1,0081631,171

Geography

Where Montgomerys live

The SSA's state-level files cover 30 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Montgomery, while Louisiana, Kentucky, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 65 registrations each.

Origin

Meaning and history of Montgomery

The name Montgomery has its origins in the Old French language, derived from the combination of the words "mont" meaning "hill" and "gomer" meaning "man." It is believed to have emerged sometime in the 11th or 12th century, initially used as a surname or place name.

One of the earliest recorded uses of the name can be traced back to the Norman conquest of England in the late 11th century. During this period, Norman nobles and knights bearing the name Montgomery were granted lands and titles in various parts of England and Wales.

Historically, the name Montgomery has been associated with several notable figures. One of the most prominent was Roger de Montgomery, a Norman nobleman who played a significant role in the Norman conquest of England alongside William the Conqueror in 1066. Roger de Montgomery was granted extensive lands and became the Earl of Shrewsbury and Arundel.

Another notable figure was Sir John Montgomery, a Scottish nobleman born in the late 15th century, who served as a Lord of the Privy Council and was involved in the Scottish Reformation. He was also a trusted advisor to King James IV of Scotland.

In the 17th century, Robert Montgomery, a Scottish poet and religious writer, gained recognition for his works such as "The Cherrie and the Slae" and "The Poetical Works of Robert Montgomery." He was born around 1635 and made significant contributions to Scottish literature.

In the field of military history, Richard Montgomery, an Irish-born soldier who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, played a pivotal role. He was born in 1738 and was killed in the Battle of Quebec in 1775, where he attempted to capture the city from British forces.

Another notable figure was Bernard Montgomery, a British army officer and field marshal who served during World War II. Born in 1887, he is best known for his leadership in the North African and European campaigns, particularly his role in the Battle of El Alamein and the Normandy landings.

Notable bearers

Famous people named Montgomery

People

Montgomery + last name combinations

How many people share a full name with Montgomery 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

Montgomery: questions and answers

How many people in the U.S. are named Montgomery?

Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,261 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Montgomery 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 65,150 US residents.

Is Montgomery a common name?

We classify Montgomery as "Rare". It ranks above 96.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,986 babies have been registered with this name.

When was Montgomery most popular?

The single biggest year for Montgomery was 2023, when 245 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Montgomery is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.

Is Montgomery a male name?

Yes, 91.2% of people registered as Montgomery 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.

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.

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