Montrell
A masculine name of French origin meaning "from the hilly village".
Name Census estimates that about 3,876 living Americans carry the first name Montrell. It is a predominantly male name (99.3% of registrations). The average person named Montrell today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Montrell births was 2006 (131 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Montrell. 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
3.9K
~ 1 in 88,430 Americans
Peak year
2006
131 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,488
Tracked since 1967
Census
Montrell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,729 people with the first name Montrell, which placed it at #6,022 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
#6,022
National first-name rank
People counted
2.7K
2,729 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
92.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Montrell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Montrell is Black at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Montrell 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 Montrell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American92.3% · 2,519
- Two or more races4.2% · 115
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 54
- White0.9% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Montrell
Out of the 3,983 babies given the name Montrell since 1880, 99.3% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Montrell as a male name
- Ranked #3,488 in 2024
- 33 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2006 (131 births)
Montrell as a female name
- Ranked #12,826 in 1995
- 6 female births in 1995
- Peak: 1971 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Montrell leans strongly male. 2,650 people counted with this name were male (97.1%), compared with 78 female bearers (2.9%).
Popularity
Montrell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Montrell from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 1,076 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Montrell 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 Montrell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Montrells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 22 states and territories. Louisiana, North Carolina, Texas recorded the most babies named Montrell, while Ohio, New York, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 92 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Montrell
The name Montrell is a relatively modern name that emerged in the 20th century. It is believed to be a combination of the French word "mont" meaning "mountain" and the English name "Trell" which is a shortened form of the name Terrell. The name Terrell itself has its origins in the Old English word "tir" meaning "high ground" or "land near a river."
While the name Montrell does not have a long historical lineage, there are a few notable individuals who have borne this name. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name was Montrell Gatewood, an American football player who was born in 1964 and played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Raiders and the San Diego Chargers in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Another notable individual with the name Montrell is Montrell Haley, an American basketball player who was born in 1994. He played college basketball for the North Carolina State University Wolfpack and was later drafted by the Boston Celtics in the 2017 NBA draft.
In the world of music, Montrell Darrett is a contemporary American singer-songwriter and record producer who has worked with various artists in the hip-hop and R&B genres. He was born in 1988 and has collaborated with well-known artists such as Chris Brown and Tank.
Montrell Vines, born in 1992, is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Cape Town Tigers in the Basketball National League (BNL) in South Africa. He played college basketball for the University of North Carolina Wilmington Seahawks.
Lastly, Montrell Dubose is an American actor and comedian who has appeared in various television shows and films. He was born in 1985 and is known for his roles in the TV series "The Neighborhood" and the movie "Night School" alongside Kevin Hart.
While the name Montrell may not have a rich historical background, it has gained popularity in recent decades and has been carried by individuals who have made their mark in various fields, including sports, entertainment, and the arts.
People
Montrell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Montrell 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
Montrell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Montrell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,876 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Montrell 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 88,430 US residents.
Is Montrell a common name?
We classify Montrell as "Rare". It ranks above 95.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,983 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Montrell most popular?
The single biggest year for Montrell was 2006, when 131 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Montrell is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Montrell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,729 people with the name Montrell, or 0.90 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,022 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 Montrell 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 Montrell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Montrell leans strongly male. 2,650 people counted with this name were male (97.1%), compared with 78 female bearers (2.9%). 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 Montrell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Montrell is Black at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Montrell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Montrell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (2,519 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 Montrell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Montrell a male name?
Yes, 99.3% of people registered as Montrell 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 Montrell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Montrell 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 Montrell 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 Americans are named Montrell?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Montrell at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.