2000
#8,938
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,363
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.25
Rare Last name
Lamontagne
A French topographic surname referring to someone who lived near or on a mountain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,910 Americans carry the last name Lamontagne. That puts it at #9,187 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 87,661 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lamontagne surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
3.9K
1 in 87,661
Census rank
#9,187
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,410 bearers of the surname Lamontagne in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9187th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lamontagne, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Black (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lamontagne
The surname Lamontagne has its origins in France, tracing back to the medieval period. It is a locational name derived from the French words "la" meaning "the" and "montagne" meaning "mountain," referring to someone who lived near or on a mountain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of this surname can be found in the Fors de Béarn, a legal text from the 13th century, where a person named Arnaud de Lamontagne is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already in use by that time.
During the Middle Ages, the Lamontagne family was present in various regions of France, particularly in the central and southern areas. The name appears in historical records from places like Auvergne, Limousin, and Languedoc, where it was often associated with small villages or hamlets situated near mountainous terrain.
In the 14th century, a notable figure named Jean de Lamontagne served as a prominent magistrate in the city of Toulouse. His name is inscribed on several legal documents from that time period.
Another early record of the Lamontagne name can be found in the Livre de la Taille of 1292, a tax record from the city of Paris. This document lists a certain Guillaume de Lamontagne as a resident of the city.
As the centuries passed, the Lamontagne family spread to other parts of France and even abroad. In the 17th century, Pierre Lamontagne (1618-1676) was among the earliest French settlers to establish themselves in what is now the province of Quebec, Canada.
Other noteworthy individuals bearing this surname include Jacques Lamontagne (1677-1742), a French-Canadian farmer and landowner who played a role in the development of the Seigneurie de Lotbinière in Quebec, and Marie-Marguerite Lamontagne (1701-1786), a renowned Ursuline nun and educator in New France.
In the 19th century, Léon Lamontagne (1838-1919) was a prominent Canadian lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Senate of Canada, while Gustave Lamontagne (1869-1955) was a respected French architect and urban planner.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lamontagne
Among Census respondents with the surname Lamontagne, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Black (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Lamontagne bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Lamontagne surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.7% · 3,024
- Black or African American3.8% · 128
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 125
- Two or more races2.8% · 94
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lamontagne
Lamontagne appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#9,211
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,539
+176 bearers (+5.2%)
Per 100,000 1.20
Rank movement Down 273 places
2020
#9,187
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,410
-129 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 1.14
Rank movement Up 24 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,938 | 3,363 | 1.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,211 | 3,539 | 1.20 | +176 bearers (+5.2%) | Down 273 places |
| 2020 | #9,187 | 3,410 | 1.14 | -129 bearers (-3.6%) | Up 24 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Lamontagne surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #9,211 | #9,187 | 0.3% |
| Count | 3,539 | 3,410 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.20 | 1.14 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lamontagne bearers went from 3,539 to 3,410 (-3.6% change). The surname moved up 24 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,211 to #9,187.
FAQ
Lamontagne surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lamontagne?
Name Census estimates that about 3,910 living Americans carry the surname Lamontagne. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 87,661 residents.
How common is Lamontagne?
Lamontagne ranks #9,187 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.14 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,410 people with the surname Lamontagne. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,910), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.14 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Lamontagne.
Has Lamontagne become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lamontagne went from 3,539 recorded bearers to 3,410. That is a decrease of 129 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,211 to #9,187.
What does the Census say about the background of Lamontagne?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lamontagne, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Black (3.8%) and Hispanic (3.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Lamontagne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.7% (3,024 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lamontagne appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.7%), Black (3.8%), Hispanic (3.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Lamontagne (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Lamontagne mean?
A French topographic surname referring to someone who lived near or on a mountain. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Lamontagne (1.14 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Lamontagne?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.