2000
#17,943
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,436
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.53
Rare Last name
Monje
A surname indicating someone of monastic origin or relation to a monk.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,185 Americans carry the last name Monje. That puts it at #14,912 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 156,867 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Monje 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
2.2K
1 in 156,867
Census rank
#14,912
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,905 bearers of the surname Monje in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14912th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Monje, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 81.9%. The next largest groups are White (9.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Monje
The surname MONJE originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is derived from the Spanish word "monje," meaning "monk." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this name may have had some connection to a monastic order or religious community.
The name MONJE is believed to have first appeared in the region of Galicia, located in northwestern Spain. Records from the 12th and 13th centuries mention individuals with this surname residing in towns and villages around Santiago de Compostela, a major center of Christian pilgrimage.
One of the earliest documented references to the MONJE name can be found in the Tumbo Viejo, an ancient cartulary (collection of charters) from the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, dating back to the early 13th century. This manuscript includes several entries related to individuals with the surname MONJE, suggesting their presence in the area during that time.
In the 14th century, a notable figure named Juan MONJE (c. 1310-1380) was a celebrated poet and troubadour from Galicia. His works, written in the Galician-Portuguese language, are considered important examples of medieval Iberian literature.
Another notable bearer of the MONJE surname was Alonso MONJE (c. 1460-1525), a Spanish navigator and explorer who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493. Alonso MONJE is credited with being one of the first Europeans to set foot on the island of Hispaniola (present-day Haiti and Dominican Republic).
During the 16th century, the MONJE surname began to spread beyond Galicia to other regions of Spain, particularly Andalusia and Castile. One prominent individual from this period was Pedro MONJE (c. 1550-1620), a renowned architect who contributed to the design and construction of several notable churches and monasteries in Seville and its surrounding areas.
In the 18th century, Miguel MONJE (1715-1795) was a respected mathematician and astronomer from Granada. He served as the director of the Royal Observatory of Madrid and made significant contributions to the fields of celestial mechanics and cartography.
As the MONJE surname spread across Spain and its territories, it also found its way to the Americas, particularly in regions colonized by the Spanish Empire. Over the centuries, individuals with this surname have left their mark in various fields, including literature, exploration, architecture, and science.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Monje
Among Census respondents with the surname Monje, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 81.9%. The next largest groups are White (9.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Monje 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 Monje surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino81.9% · 1,561
- White9.6% · 182
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.0% · 133
- Two or more races1.2% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
- Black or African American0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Monje
Monje 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
#17,026
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,669
+233 bearers (+16.2%)
Per 100,000 0.57
Rank movement Up 917 places
2020
#14,912
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,905
+236 bearers (+14.1%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Up 2,114 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,943 | 1,436 | 0.53 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,026 | 1,669 | 0.57 | +233 bearers (+16.2%) | Up 917 places |
| 2020 | #14,912 | 1,905 | 0.64 | +236 bearers (+14.1%) | Up 2,114 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 Monje 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 | #17,026 | #14,912 | 12.4% |
| Count | 1,669 | 1,905 | 14.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.57 | 0.64 | 11.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Monje bearers went from 1,669 to 1,905 (+14.1% change). The surname moved up 2,114 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,026 to #14,912.
FAQ
Monje surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Monje?
Name Census estimates that about 2,185 living Americans carry the surname Monje. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 156,867 residents.
How common is Monje?
Monje ranks #14,912 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.64 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 1,905 people with the surname Monje. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,185), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.64 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 Monje.
Has Monje become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Monje went from 1,669 recorded bearers to 1,905. That is an increase of 236 (+14.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #17,026 to #14,912.
What does the Census say about the background of Monje?
Among Census respondents with the surname Monje, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 81.9%. The next largest groups are White (9.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.0%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Monje in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.9% (1,561 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Monje appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (81.9%), White (9.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (7.0%). 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 Monje (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 Monje mean?
A surname indicating someone of monastic origin or relation to a monk. 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 Monje (0.64 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 common is the surname Monje?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Monje at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.