Montrail
A name combining the French words "mont" meaning mountain and "trail".
Name Census estimates that about 214 living Americans carry the first name Montrail. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Montrail today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Montrail births was 1982 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Montrail. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
214
~ 1 in 1,601,656 Americans
Peak year
1982
14 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2013 SSA rank
#13,425
Tracked since 1975
Census
Montrail in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 198 people with the first name Montrail, which placed it at #38,638 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#38,638
National first-name rank
People counted
198
198 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
89.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Montrail
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Montrail is Black at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and White (2.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Montrail 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Montrail at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.4% · 177
- Two or more races4.0% · 8
- White2.5% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 3
Popularity
Montrail: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Montrail from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 76 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Montrail remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Montrail by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Montrail during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Montrail
The name Montrail is a unique and intriguing one, with a rich history that spans across continents and cultures. Its origins can be traced back to the ancient Celtic language of Brittonic, spoken by the Britons who inhabited the island of Great Britain prior to the Anglo-Saxon invasion. The name is a compound word, formed by combining the elements "mon," meaning "hill" or "mountain," and "tral," which is believed to be derived from the word "traillwr," meaning "wanderer" or "traveler."
In its earliest recorded form, the name appeared in the writings of ancient Welsh bards and poets, who often used it to describe the rugged landscape of the Welsh highlands and the adventurous spirits who roamed those untamed regions. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the 6th-century epic poem "Y Gododdin," which recounts the heroic deeds of a band of British warriors who fought against the Anglo-Saxons.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Montrail remained a popular choice among the Celtic inhabitants of Britain and Ireland, often bestowed upon those who exhibited a love for exploration and a connection with the natural world. In the 12th century, a renowned Welsh warrior and poet named Montrail ap Gwilym gained renown for his bravery in battle and his stirring verses that celebrated the beauty of the Welsh countryside.
As the centuries passed, the name Montrail spread beyond the Celtic lands and found its way into other cultures and languages. In the 16th century, a French explorer named Montrail LeBlanc led an expedition to the New World, becoming one of the first Europeans to document the vast wilderness of what is now Canada. His detailed accounts of the rugged terrain and native peoples captured the imagination of readers back in Europe and helped to cement the name's association with adventure and discovery.
In the 19th century, a Scottish mountaineer named Montrail MacGregor gained fame for his daring ascents of some of the highest peaks in the British Isles, including Ben Nevis and Snowdon. His exploits were widely celebrated in the press of the time, and his name became synonymous with the thrill of conquering nature's most formidable challenges.
Other notable figures who bore the name Montrail include Montrail O'Donnell, an Irish rebel leader who fought against English rule in the 17th century; Montrail Leclerc, a French soldier and statesman who played a pivotal role in the Haitian Revolution; and Montrail Cabral, a celebrated poet and novelist from Cape Verde who helped to shape the literary landscape of his native land in the 20th century.
While the name Montrail may not be as common today as it once was, it remains a powerful reminder of the human spirit's enduring thirst for adventure, exploration, and a deep connection with the natural world. Its rich history and evocative meaning continue to captivate those who seek to imbue their children with a sense of wanderlust and a love for the untamed beauty of the great outdoors.
People
Montrail + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Montrail as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Montrail: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Montrail?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 214 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Montrail going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,601,656 US residents.
Is Montrail a common name?
We classify Montrail as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 221 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Montrail most popular?
The single biggest year for Montrail was 1982, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Montrail is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Montrail in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 198 people with the name Montrail, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,638 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Montrail in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Montrail?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Montrail leans strongly male. 196 people counted with this name were male (98.5%), compared with 3 female bearers (1.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Montrail?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Montrail is Black at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and White (2.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Montrail most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Montrail in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.4% (177 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Montrail in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Montrail a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Montrail in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Montrail still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Montrail in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Montrail can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Montrail?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.