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

Montiel, 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 Montiel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Montiel in America

Montiel is the 2896th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Montiel surname appeared 12,376 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Montiel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Montiel 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 Montiel

The surname Montiel is of Spanish origin, originating from the region of La Mancha in central Spain during the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Spanish words "monte," meaning "mountain," and "el," meaning "the," suggesting a connection to a particular mountainous area or settlement.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Montiel surname can be found in the 14th century, when a nobleman named Juan de Montiel was appointed as a military commander during the Reconquista, the period when Christian kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula fought to reclaim territories from the Moors.

In the 15th century, the Montiel family played a significant role in the colonization of the Americas. Diego de Montiel, born around 1450, was a Spanish conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico. He later became one of the founders of the city of Veracruz.

Another notable figure with the Montiel surname was Miguel de Montiel, a Spanish artist and painter who lived in the 17th century. His works, primarily religious paintings and portraits, can be found in various churches and museums across Spain.

During the 18th century, the Montiel family established itself in various parts of the Spanish Empire. José de Montiel, born in 1725, was a prominent military officer who served as the governor of the province of Texas, then part of New Spain.

In the 19th century, Manuel Montiel, born in 1810, was a Mexican politician and military leader who played a significant role in the Mexican-American War. He served as the governor of the state of Nuevo León and was later appointed as the Minister of War and Marine during the presidency of Benito Juárez.

Throughout history, the Montiel surname has also been associated with various locations and place names, such as Montiel, a town in the province of Ciudad Real, Spain, and Montieles, a municipality in the province of Valladolid, Spain.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Montiel

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

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

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

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