2000
#139,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Montrey
A French place name referring to a person from Montréal or similar location.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Montrey. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Montrey 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
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Montrey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Montrey, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.4%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Montrey
The surname Montrey has its origins in France and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old French word "montroie," which means "high road" or "mountain path." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived or worked near a prominent mountain road or pass.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Montrey can be found in the Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Marmoutier, a medieval cartulary from the Abbey of Marmoutier near Tours, France. In this document, dated around 1150, a person named Petrus de Montroie is mentioned.
In the 13th century, the name Montrey appears in various records from the region of Auvergne in central France. For example, a charter from the Abbey of La Chaise-Dieu, dated 1274, mentions a knight named Guillelmus de Montroia.
During the Middle Ages, the name Montrey may have been associated with places like Montreuil, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department of northern France, or Montrouge, a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris. However, the exact connection between the surname and these place names remains unclear.
Notable individuals throughout history who bore the surname Montrey include:
1. Jacques de Montrey (c. 1480 - 1545), a French nobleman and military commander who fought during the Italian Wars.
2. Étienne de Montrey (c. 1520 - 1585), a French theologian and author who wrote several works on religious subjects.
3. Marie de Montrey (c. 1570 - 1645), a French noblewoman known for her involvement in the French Wars of Religion.
4. Henri de Montrey (c. 1610 - 1680), a French explorer and cartographer who mapped parts of the Caribbean and South America.
5. Louise de Montrey (c. 1660 - 1725), a French playwright and poet who was a member of the literary salon of Madame de Rambouillet.
While the surname Montrey may have evolved over time and taken on different spellings in various regions, its origins can be traced back to the mountainous regions of central and northern France during the medieval period.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Montrey
Among Census respondents with the surname Montrey, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.4%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Montrey 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 Montrey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.2% · 85
- Hispanic or Latino10.4% · 11
- Two or more races4.7% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.8% · 4
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Montrey
Montrey 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
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 9,638 places
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-4 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,944 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #139,757 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 9,638 places |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.6%) | Down 2,944 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 Montrey 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 | #149,395 | #152,339 | -2.0% |
| Count | 110 | 106 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Montrey bearers went from 110 to 106 (-3.6% change). The surname moved down 2,944 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #152,339.
FAQ
Montrey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Montrey?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Montrey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Montrey?
Montrey ranks #152,339 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 106 people with the surname Montrey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Montrey.
Has Montrey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Montrey went from 110 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #149,395 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Montrey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Montrey, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (10.4%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Montrey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.2% (85 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Montrey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.2%), Hispanic (10.4%), Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Montrey (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 Montrey mean?
A French place name referring to a person from Montréal or similar location. 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 Montrey (0.04 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 share the surname Montrey?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.