2000
#23,721
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 996
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.37
Rare Last name
Monsalve
A locational surname derived from a place name in Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,050 Americans carry the last name Monsalve. That puts it at #15,726 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 167,197 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Monsalve 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
2.0K
1 in 167,197
Census rank
#15,726
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,788 bearers of the surname Monsalve in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15726th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Monsalve, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.6%. The next largest groups are White (5.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Monsalve
Among Census respondents with the surname Monsalve, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.6%. The next largest groups are White (5.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Monsalve 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 Monsalve surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.6% · 1,673
- White5.9% · 106
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
- Two or more races0.1% · 2
- Black or African American0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Monsalve
Monsalve 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
#18,928
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,442
+446 bearers (+44.8%)
Per 100,000 0.49
Rank movement Up 4,793 places
2020
#15,726
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,788
+346 bearers (+24.0%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Up 3,202 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #23,721 | 996 | 0.37 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #18,928 | 1,442 | 0.49 | +446 bearers (+44.8%) | Up 4,793 places |
| 2020 | #15,726 | 1,788 | 0.60 | +346 bearers (+24.0%) | Up 3,202 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 Monsalve 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 | #18,928 | #15,726 | 16.9% |
| Count | 1,442 | 1,788 | 24.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.49 | 0.60 | 22.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Monsalve bearers went from 1,442 to 1,788 (+24.0% change). The surname moved up 3,202 positions in the national ranking, going from #18,928 to #15,726.
FAQ
Monsalve surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Monsalve?
Name Census estimates that about 2,050 living Americans carry the surname Monsalve. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 167,197 residents.
How common is Monsalve?
Monsalve ranks #15,726 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 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 1,788 people with the surname Monsalve. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,050), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 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 Monsalve.
Has Monsalve become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Monsalve went from 1,442 recorded bearers to 1,788. That is an increase of 346 (+24.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #18,928 to #15,726.
What does the Census say about the background of Monsalve?
Among Census respondents with the surname Monsalve, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.6%. The next largest groups are White (5.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.2%). 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 Monsalve in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (1,673 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Monsalve appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.6%), White (5.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.2%). 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 Monsalve (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 Monsalve mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name in Spain. 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 Monsalve (0.60 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 are called Monsalve?
If you just want to know how common the surname Monsalve is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.