Menton last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Menton is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Menton.

Meaning of Menton

A surname derived from the French place name Menton, located in southeastern France.

Menton, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Menton surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Menton in America

Menton is the 35912th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Menton surname appeared 625 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Menton.

We can also compare 2010 data for Menton to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

20102000Change (%)
Rank35912333807.31%
Count625645-3.15%
Proportion per 100k0.210.24-13.33%

The history of the last name Menton

The surname Menton originated in France and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "menter," which meant "to dwell" or "to reside." The name was likely first given to someone who lived in a specific town or region.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Menton can be found in medieval records from the Normandy region of France. In the Domesday Book, a census conducted in 1086 by William the Conqueror, there are several entries for people with the name Menton or similar spellings, such as Mentun or Mentone.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Gilbertus de Menton, who was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195. Another notable figure was Renaud Menton, a French nobleman who took part in the Third Crusade in the late 12th century.

The surname Menton is also associated with the town of Menton, located in the Alpes-Maritimes department of southeastern France, near the border with Italy. It is likely that some individuals adopted the name as a reference to their place of origin or residence in this coastal town.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Menton. Robert Menton (1492-1556) was a French philosopher and theologian who studied at the University of Paris. Marie-Antoinette Menton (1722-1805) was a French noblewoman and courtier at the court of King Louis XV.

In England, the name was introduced by Norman settlers after the conquest of 1066. One of the earliest recorded Mentons in England was Sir John Menton (1310-1372), a knight who served under King Edward III during the Hundred Years' War.

Another prominent figure was Sir Thomas Menton (1550-1612), an English politician and landowner who served as a member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He was also the owner of the Menton Estate in Cambridgeshire.

It is worth noting that the name Menton has also been associated with various place names and locations throughout Europe, such as the village of Menton in Normandy, France, and the town of Menton in the Italian region of Piedmont.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Menton

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Menton.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Menton was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only71.36%446
Non-Hispanic Black Only20.00%125
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races2.72%17
Hispanic Origin2.72%17

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Menton has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White71.36%76.28%-6.66%
Black20.00%19.07%4.76%
Asian and Pacific Islander(S)%1.24%(S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%(S)%(S)%
Two or More Races2.72%2.17%22.49%
Hispanic2.72%(S)%(S)%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Menton was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Menton, please contact us.

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