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

Monsalve, 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 Monsalve surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Monsalve in America

Monsalve is the 18928th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Monsalve surname appeared 1,442 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 Monsalve.

We can also compare 2010 data for Monsalve 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.

The history of the last name Monsalve

The surname Monsalve is of Spanish origin, originating from the northern regions of Spain during the medieval period. It is believed to have evolved from the Spanish toponym "Montsalve," derived from the Latin words "mons" meaning mountain and "salvus" meaning safe or protected. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone living near a safe or fortified mountain settlement.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Monsalve can be found in the Becerro de las Behetrías de Castilla, a medieval census document from the 14th century, which listed various landowners and their properties in the region of Castile. This document mentions individuals with the surname Monsalve as landowners in the areas of Burgos and Palencia.

During the 15th century, the name Monsalve appeared in various historical records from the Kingdom of Aragon, such as tax records and property deeds. One notable individual from this period was Juan de Monsalve, a renowned military commander who served under King Ferdinand II of Aragon during the Reconquista, the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors.

In the 16th century, the Monsalve surname gained prominence in the Americas, as Spanish explorers and settlers carried the name to the New World. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in the Americas was Hernando de Monsalve, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Peru alongside Francisco Pizarro in the 1530s.

Another notable figure with the Monsalve surname was Gaspar de Monsalve, a Spanish cleric born in 1554 in Cuenca, Spain. He served as a missionary in the Philippines and became the first Bishop of Cebu, playing a significant role in the evangelization efforts in the region.

In the 18th century, the Monsalve name appeared in various historical records from Spain, including birth and marriage records. One prominent individual from this period was José Monsalve y Villaroel, a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator born in 1709 in Segovia. He served as the Governor of Panama and later as the Viceroy of New Granada (modern-day Colombia and Panama) from 1768 to 1772.

Throughout its history, the Monsalve surname has been associated with various places and locations in Spain, such as Montsalve (Catalonia), Monsalve (Castile and León), and Monsalvez (Extremadura), further reinforcing its connection to the toponym from which it derived.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Monsalve

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

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 Monsalve was:

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 Monsalve has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 Monsalve was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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