Fun Facts About the Name Montreal
- More than 1 thousand babies named Montreal: U.S. records list 1,113 babies given the name Montreal from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Montreal Mean?
Montreal means "Royal Mountain" or "Royal Mount." It comes from French Mont Royal, made up of mont ("mount, mountain"), which descends from Latin mons (genitive montis), and royal ("royal"), from Latin regalis by way of Old French. The two words were later run together into the single written form Montréal, with an acute accent on the e; English uses the form Montreal without the accent.
Montreal is a place name rather than a traditional personal name. Where it appears as a given name it is borrowed directly from the city, so it has no separate origin or meaning as a first name. A similar-looking phrase such as Spanish monte real ("royal mount") has the same literal sense but is not the source of this name.
Montreal Name History & Origins
Jacques Cartier gave the name in 1535 on his second voyage to North America. He climbed the hill on the island in the St. Lawrence River and recorded that he named it Mont Royal, "Mount Royal." The hill still carries that name today.
The French settlement founded on the island in 1642 was called Ville-Marie. Over time the name Montréal, taken from the island and the hill, displaced Ville-Marie as the name of the settlement, and the city was incorporated under the name Montreal in 1832.
As a personal given name, Montreal is uncommon and has no long history of use in French or English naming traditions; it is a direct borrowing of the city's name rather than a name with its own line of development.
How Popular is the Name Montreal?
Montreal has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1990. Its best rank was #1,654 in 1990.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #13,273 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2024 | #8,099 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2023 | #8,066 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2022 | #6,712 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2021 | #10,434 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2019 | #8,655 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2018 | #7,453 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2017 | #6,973 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2016 | #10,383 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2015 | #6,199 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2014 | #4,646 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2013 | #5,830 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2012 | #5,186 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2011 | #5,124 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2010 | #6,960 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2009 | #4,129 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 2008 | #5,009 | 19 | 0.0009% |
| 2007 | #5,828 | 15 | 0.0007% |
| 2006 | #4,457 | 21 | 0.0010% |
| 2005 | #5,197 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 2004 | #4,718 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2003 | #3,595 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 2002 | #3,632 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 2001 | #4,236 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2000 | #3,604 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 1999 | #3,251 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 1998 | #2,990 | 27 | 0.0014% |
| 1997 | #3,125 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 1996 | #2,726 | 28 | 0.0015% |
| 1995 | #2,008 | 42 | 0.0022% |
| 1994 | #3,003 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 1993 | #1,888 | 44 | 0.0022% |
| 1992 | #2,508 | 29 | 0.0015% |
| 1991 | #1,884 | 42 | 0.0021% |
| 1990 | #1,654 | 50 | 0.0024% |
| 1989 | #1,848 | 41 | 0.0020% |
| 1988 | #2,022 | 32 | 0.0017% |
| 1987 | #2,616 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1986 | #2,339 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 1985 | #2,160 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 1984 | #2,780 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 1983 | #2,319 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 1982 | #3,059 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1981 | #2,309 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 1980 | #2,502 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 1979 | #1,982 | 27 | 0.0016% |
| 1978 | #2,878 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 1977 | #2,329 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 1976 | #2,573 | 17 | 0.0011% |
| 1975 | #2,606 | 16 | 0.0010% |
| 1974 | #3,495 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1973 | #2,377 | 17 | 0.0011% |
| 1972 | #3,845 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1971 | #4,237 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1970 | #3,444 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1969 | #4,815 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Montreal Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have psychic power. You can carry on for others with joy. You have a receptive nature and may bear burdens for others. You are pragmatic, thorough, strong-willed, practical and stubborn at times. You are hard working, often martyr to duty. You like home and security above all. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Montreal's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Montreal's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.