Montoya Last Name Origin

Michelle Wilson - October 5, 2022

You can learn much about yourself and your origins from your last name. For this reason, many agree that learning more about their last name is key to becoming more self-aware and knowledgeable about their roots. But this likely isn’t news to you. After all, you’ve already taken the first steps in learning more about your background.

Join us as we delve into the last name Montoya, uncovering the definition of this last name, its popularity around the globe, and the famous people that share in your rich history.

Definition of the Montoya Last Name

In looking at the definition, Montoya appears to have a few meanings. First, in Spanish, Montoya refers to a native of the hilly land or the one which originated from Montoya. In contrast, in Latin, Montoya correlates to the word “montis,” meaning mountains. Still, other origins look to the old surname discovered in Vila, possibly related to the biblical word “montiya,” which loosely translates to “having a gracious quality.”

Other Spelling Variations

Public data shows Montoya is available under several different spellings, some of the most common being:

• Montoya
• de Montoya
• Monte
• Montes
• de Montes
• Móntez
• Montez
• Montero
• Monteros
• de los Monteros
• Montecillo
• Montejo
• de Montejo
• Mont
• Montaa
• Montana
• Montao

How Common Is Montoya?

Public data suggests Montoya is #459 on America’s list of more frequent surnames. In the 2010 census, analysts recorded the surname Montoya 71,844 times. If you were to choose a random sample of 100,000 Americans, 24.36 would have the surname Montoya.

Comparing the last name on a global scale, Montoya ranks 997th in the most frequently found last names in the world, amounting to 1 in about 13,600.

The Origin Story

In looking at online data, historians have concluded the last name Montoya is a Basque surname with origins stemming from a village near Berantevilla in Northern Spain. Often, hereditary surnames were chosen in Spain by some broad guidelines, and during the late Middle Ages, place names became more and more common. Therefore, the first holders of the Montoya name resided there, had property, or were born in the region.

Local names indicated who owned the village or estate. In the past, the Montoya family called a hilly area of that province home. The word monte, which means hill, valley, or forested highland in Spanish, is the source of this place’s name’s original form. Today, Montoya is more common among Gitanos than the general Spanish population.

Most Common Jobs of a Montoya

The top two reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Montoya in 1940 were laborer and housekeeper. 15% of Montoya women and 35% of Montoya men worked as housekeepers.

Montoya Last Name Stats

• The Montoya name falls into the 99th percentile, which indicates that almost any last name is more popular than it.
• 100% of the time, the world uses Montoya as a last name.
• The life expectancy of someone with the Montoya last name was 41 in 1942 and 69 in 2004.

Famous People With The Last Name Montoya

Montoyas, there are a few famous folks among you. Perhaps, you’ve heard of a few of the following.

Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán

Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán is one of the best racing drivers of his time. With participation in Formula One, Indycar, NASCAR, Daytona, and F3000, Juan has since broken multiple records, won many of the most prestigious competitions in the world, and created ground-breaking technology. On his list of achievements are seven Formula 1 victories, 2 Indy 500 wins, and being one of three drivers (alongside Mario Andretti and Dan Gurney) to win races in Indy cars, Formula One, and NASCAR. Currently, the world can follow Montoya’s journey as a driver for Acura Team Penske in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Adam Montoya

Adam Montoya is another Montoya worth noting. First and foremost, he is a video game commentator on YouTube; many know him by his stage name, SeaNanners. Starting his career as a video creator, Adam slowly evolved from making CoD videos to discussing the games he plays with various gamers, such as CaptainSparklez, Markiplier, TheSyndicateProject, Cheeseman, and many others. He frequently works alongside GassyMexican (whose vocal impressions, primarily of Morgan Freeman, are famous in SeaNanners’ most-watched video), Chilled Chaos, Mr. Sark, and Uncle Slam.

Carlos Fernando Navarro Montoya

The now-retired footballer Carlos Fernando Navarro Montoya made history throughout his 25-year professional career. Over this period, he played for teams in Argentina, Colombia, Spain, Chile, Brazil, and Uruguay in over 15 clubs and 800 games across these competitions. After playing for Independiente Santa Fe for a year in his native country, he transferred to the Xeneizes in 1988. Over the next nine years, Carlos played 396 official games for the Xeneizes, rarely missing any of them. He also set club records for 180 consecutive games played and 824 minutes without a goal conceded.

Matilde Petra Montoya

Did you know Montoya’s name also holds history in women’s rights? Perhaps the name Matilde Petra Montoya Lafragua rings a bell. Matilde was the first female doctor in Mexico. She was born back in 1859 and died in 1939 in Mexico City, during which time she specialized in surgery and obstetrics. She began her career as a midwife before becoming one of the first women to enroll in, complete, and receive a doctorate from medical school in 1887. Her journey was not easy. Rather, Montoya underwent abuse from doctors who orchestrated a hate campaign against her in the local newspaper. Moreover, when it came time to apply for school, she was rejected the first time, only to be met with an acceptance complete with hostility from the university the second time. But, through these experiences, she created a legacy through her establishment of women’s rights and the struggles for equal access to school and employment for women.

Álvaro Montoya

Álvaro “Al” Montoya is a former Chicago-born ice hockey goaltender. The goaltender was born in 1985 to two Cuban parents, making history as the first Cuban American to participate in the National Hockey League (NHL). Throughout his career, he played nine seasons as a member of the Arizona Coyotes, New York Islanders, Winnipeg Jets, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens, and Edmonton Oilers. He is now the director of community outreach for the Dallas Stars. In his new position, the Stars have tasked Al with growing hockey as a sport for underrepresented fans, including Spanish speakers not unlike himself.

Conclusion

Discovering the family history of your surname helps build a solid understanding of your past. We hope that by reading up on the Montoya last name, you now have an initial understanding of where you came from and are curious about learning more.