Montrice
A feminine name of unknown origin, potentially derived from French elements.
Name Census estimates that about 276 living Americans carry the first name Montrice. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 70.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Montrice today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Montrice births was 1970 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Montrice. 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
276
~ 1 in 1,241,864 Americans
Peak year
1970
14 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
2008 SSA rank
#13,949
Tracked since 1959
Census
Montrice in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 310 people with the first name Montrice, which placed it at #28,807 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
#28,807
National first-name rank
People counted
310
310 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
94.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Montrice
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Montrice is Black at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Montrice 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 Montrice at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American94.5% · 293
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 10
- Two or more races1.6% · 5
- White0.6% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Montrice
Montrice is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 296 total registrations, 88 (29.7%) were male and 208 (70.3%) were female.
Montrice as a male name
- Ranked #13,949 in 2008
- 5 male births in 2008
- Peak: 1981 (11 births)
Montrice as a female name
- Ranked #17,538 in 2003
- 5 female births in 2003
- Peak: 1976 (12 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Montrice on both sides of the split. Of the 311 people counted with this name, 105 were male (33.8%) and 206 were female (66.2%).
Popularity
Montrice: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Montrice from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 92 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Montrice 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 Montrice 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 Montrice
The name Montrice is a relatively modern invention, with its origins traceable to the late 19th or early 20th century. It is believed to have been derived from the French word "monter," meaning "to mount" or "to ascend," combined with the suffix "-rice," which is a feminine form commonly used in French names. This suggests that the name may have been created to convey a sense of ambition, aspiration, or rising to new heights.
While there are no definitive historical records or ancient texts that directly reference the name Montrice, its construction follows a pattern commonly seen in the creation of new names during the late Victorian era and the early 20th century. Many parents during this time sought to give their children unique and distinctive names, often by combining existing words or name elements in creative ways.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Montrice dates back to the late 19th century, when a woman named Montrice Jacobs was born in the United States around 1885. However, it is worth noting that record-keeping practices were not always consistent during this time, so there may have been earlier instances that were not properly documented.
Throughout the 20th century, a few notable individuals bore the name Montrice. One such person was Montrice Graves Brickhouse, an African American educator and civil rights activist born in 1934 in North Carolina. She played a significant role in the desegregation of schools in her state and worked tirelessly to promote equal educational opportunities for all students.
Another prominent figure was Montrice Massey, an American jazz singer and songwriter born in 1923 in Kansas City, Missouri. She had a successful career performing with various big bands and orchestras during the swing era and later transitioned to blues and rhythm and blues music.
In the literary world, Montrice Maison was a celebrated author and poet born in 1925 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her works often explored themes of racial identity, social justice, and the African American experience. She was recognized with numerous awards and honors for her contributions to literature.
Montrice Wilcox, born in 1952 in Los Angeles, California, was a pioneering figure in the field of sports journalism. She became one of the first African American women to cover major sporting events for national publications and broke down barriers for women in a traditionally male-dominated industry.
Lastly, Montrice Dickerson, born in 1978 in Chicago, Illinois, is a contemporary artist and sculptor whose works have been exhibited in galleries and museums across the United States. Her sculptures often explore themes of identity, culture, and the human experience, using diverse materials and techniques.
People
Montrice + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Montrice 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
Montrice: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Montrice?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 276 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Montrice 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 1,241,864 US residents.
Is Montrice a common name?
We classify Montrice as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 296 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Montrice most popular?
The single biggest year for Montrice was 1970, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Montrice is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Montrice in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 310 people with the name Montrice, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,807 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 Montrice 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 Montrice?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Montrice on both sides of the split. Of the 311 people counted with this name, 105 were male (33.8%) and 206 were female (66.2%). 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 Montrice?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Montrice is Black at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (1.6%). 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 Montrice most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Montrice in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.5% (293 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 Montrice in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Montrice a female name?
Yes, 70.3% of people registered as Montrice in the SSA data are female. 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 Montrice still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Montrice 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 Montrice 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 named Montrice?
See how many people share the name Montrice on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.