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

Mountain, 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 Mountain surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mountain in America

Mountain is the 9877th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mountain surname appeared 3,274 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 Mountain.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mountain 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 Mountain

The surname "Mountain" is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period, likely derived from the Old English word "munte" or "mont," which referred to a hill or mountain. This name was likely given as a descriptive surname to individuals who lived near or came from a mountainous region.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname "Mountain" dates back to the 13th century, appearing in the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire in 1273, where a person named William de la Munte is mentioned. This spelling variation, "de la Munte," reflects the Norman French influence on English surnames during that time.

In the 14th century, the name appears in various records, such as the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1379, where a Richard del Monte is listed. The use of the preposition "del" or "de la" before the surname was common, indicating the person's association with a particular place.

The surname "Mountain" may also have derived from place names containing the word "mount" or "mountain," such as Montacute in Somerset or Montfort in various locations across England. Individuals who originated from or lived near these places might have adopted the surname "Mountain" over time.

Among notable historical figures bearing the surname "Mountain" is John Mountain (c. 1610-1672), an English clergyman who served as the Bishop of London from 1663 to 1672. Another prominent individual was George Jehoshaphat Mountain (1789-1863), a Canadian Anglican bishop who served as the third Bishop of Montreal from 1836 to 1863.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the surname "Mountain" is found in the Virginia colonial records, where a George Mountain is mentioned in 1639. Later, in the 18th century, Jacob Mountain (1751-1825) was a notable figure, serving as the first Anglican Bishop of Quebec from 1793 to 1825.

Other notable individuals with the surname "Mountain" include William Mountain (1789-1866), a British Army officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, and George Arbuthnot Mountain (1798-1865), a British diplomat and politician who served as the Governor of Newfoundland from 1857 to 1861.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mountain

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

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

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

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