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

Montesinos, 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 Montesinos surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Montesinos in America

Montesinos is the 13903rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Montesinos surname appeared 2,172 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Montesinos.

We can also compare 2010 data for Montesinos 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 Montesinos

The surname MONTESINOS has its origin in Spain, specifically in the region of Castilla-La Mancha. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century. The name is derived from the Spanish words "monte" meaning "mountain" and "sinos" which is a variant of "signos" meaning "signs" or "symbols". Therefore, MONTESINOS can be interpreted as "mountain signs" or "mountain symbols".

One of the earliest recorded instances of the MONTESINOS surname can be found in a document from the year 1295, which mentions a certain "Juan Montesinos" from the town of Cuenca. This suggests that the name was already in use by the late 13th century in the region of Castilla-La Mancha.

Another historical reference to the MONTESINOS name can be found in the chronicles of Diego de Landa, a Spanish Bishop and historian who lived in the 16th century. In his writings, he mentions a Spanish soldier named Gonzalo Guerrero Montesinos, who was shipwrecked off the coast of Mexico in 1511 and became one of the first Europeans to integrate into Maya society.

One of the most notable figures in history bearing the MONTESINOS surname was José Fernández Montesinos y Donoso (1592-1650), a Spanish jurist and writer who served as the President of the Council of the Indies, the highest governing body for Spain's overseas territories.

Another prominent individual was Fray Alonso Montesinos (c.1500-1572), a Spanish Dominican friar who was one of the first to denounce the mistreatment of indigenous people in the West Indies by Spanish colonizers. His famous sermon, known as the "Sermon of Montesinos", delivered in 1511, is considered a turning point in the struggle for the rights of Native Americans.

In the realm of literature, José F. Montesinos (1897-1972) was a renowned Spanish scholar and literary critic, known for his works on Spanish Golden Age literature, particularly on the writings of Miguel de Cervantes.

The MONTESINOS surname can also be traced back to the town of Montesinos in the province of Toledo, which likely contributed to the widespread use of the name in the region.

Throughout history, the MONTESINOS surname has been widely distributed across Spain and its former colonies, with notable bearers of the name emerging in various fields, from politics and law to religion and literature.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Montesinos

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

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

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

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