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

Monteiro, 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 Monteiro surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Monteiro in America

Monteiro is the 5036th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Monteiro surname appeared 6,965 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Monteiro.

We can also compare 2010 data for Monteiro 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 Monteiro

The surname Monteiro is of Portuguese origin and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the word "monte," meaning "hill" or "mountain," and the suffix "-eiro," indicating a person from a particular place or associated with a specific occupation.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Monteiro can be found in medieval Portuguese documents and records, often referring to individuals who lived in or near mountainous regions or worked as mountain guides or foresters. Some scholars suggest that the name may have originated from a specific place name, such as Monte or Montemor, which were common town names in Portugal during that period.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Monteiro surname was João Monteiro, a Portuguese nobleman and military commander who lived in the 14th century. He played a crucial role in the Portuguese conquest of the Algarve region from the Moors in the late 13th century.

Another notable Monteiro was Fernão Monteiro, a 15th-century Portuguese explorer and navigator who participated in the early Portuguese expeditions along the West African coast. He is credited with discovering the Cape Verde Islands in 1456.

In the 16th century, Pedro Monteiro was a prominent Portuguese architect and engineer who designed and oversaw the construction of several fortifications and public buildings in Portugal and its colonies, including the Fortaleza de São Tiago in Funchal, Madeira.

During the 17th century, Frei Cristóvão Monteiro was a renowned Portuguese preacher and religious writer who served as the Bishop of Portalegre from 1626 to 1632. His sermons and literary works were widely read and influential in his time.

In more recent history, José Monteiro Mascarenhas (1846-1924) was a notable Portuguese politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) of Portugal in the late 19th century.

The surname Monteiro has since spread beyond Portugal to other parts of the world, particularly to former Portuguese colonies and regions with significant Portuguese immigration, such as Brazil, Mozambique, and parts of the United States and Canada.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Monteiro

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!