2000
#3,780
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,602
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.19
Rare Last name
Mount
An English topographic surname for someone who lived near a hill or mountain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,449 Americans carry the last name Mount. That puts it at #4,161 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 36,274 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mount 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Mount with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.4K
1 in 36,274
Census rank
#4,161
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,240 bearers of the surname Mount in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4161st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mount, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.4%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mount
The surname MOUNT is an English toponymic name derived from the Old English word "munt" meaning "hill" or "mountain". It originated in various regions of England where people lived near or worked on hills or mountainous areas, such as the Peak District or the Cotswolds.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname can be traced back to the late 12th century. The Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1195 mention a William del Mont, while the Curia Regis Rolls of Bedfordshire in 1212 record a Henry de la Munte.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are several references to places with names containing the element "munt" or "mont", such as Mundesfelde in Warwickshire and Monton in Lancashire, suggesting that the surname may have derived from these locations.
Notable individuals with the surname MOUNT include Sir Christopher Mount (1552-1622), an English merchant and Lord Mayor of London; John Mount (1610-1685), an English clergyman and author; William Mount (1753-1833), an English engraver and painter; and William Sidney Mount (1807-1868), an American painter known for his genre scenes of rural life.
Another prominent figure was Richard Mount (c. 1677-1768), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Newtown on the Isle of Wight. He was also the owner of Warden Abbey, a historical estate in Bedfordshire.
During the medieval period, the surname MOUNT appeared in various spellings, such as Monte, Mounte, and Munt, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions of the time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mount
Among Census respondents with the surname Mount, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.4%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Mount 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 Mount surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.8% · 7,072
- Black or African American4.4% · 361
- Two or more races4.2% · 346
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 281
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 105
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 75
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mount
Mount 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
#4,055
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,754
+152 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 2.97
Rank movement Down 275 places
2020
#4,161
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,240
-514 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 2.76
Rank movement Down 106 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,780 | 8,602 | 3.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,055 | 8,754 | 2.97 | +152 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 275 places |
| 2020 | #4,161 | 8,240 | 2.76 | -514 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 106 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 Mount 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 | #4,055 | #4,161 | -2.6% |
| Count | 8,754 | 8,240 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 2.97 | 2.76 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mount bearers went from 8,754 to 8,240 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 106 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,055 to #4,161.
FAQ
Mount surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mount?
Name Census estimates that about 9,449 living Americans carry the surname Mount. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 36,274 residents.
How common is Mount?
Mount ranks #4,161 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,240 people with the surname Mount. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,449), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Mount.
Has Mount become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mount went from 8,754 recorded bearers to 8,240. That is a decrease of 514 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,055 to #4,161.
What does the Census say about the background of Mount?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mount, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.8%. The next largest groups are Black (4.4%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mount in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.8% (7,072 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mount appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.8%), Black (4.4%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Mount (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 Mount mean?
An English topographic surname for someone who lived near a hill or mountain. 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 Mount (2.76 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 common is the surname Mount?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Mount at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.