Montero
A Spanish surname meaning “hunter” or “one who pursues game in the mountains,” originally tied to hunting and the hills.
The #2,090 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 17,832 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Montero is a Spanish surname formed from Spanish montero, a word for a hunter or huntsman, especially one connected with the mountains or hunting grounds. The term is linked to monte, meaning “mountain” or “hill,” which goes back to Latin mons, montis. In older usage, it could describe someone who hunted game or one who worked in the hunt for a noble household.
History
The surname has long been established in Spain and spread widely through Spanish-speaking regions. It is especially common in Spain and in Latin America, and later became established in the United States through Spanish- and Latin American migration. As with many occupational surnames, it likely arose independently in more than one place from the same descriptive word.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older Spanish, montero could refer not just to a hunter but to a person associated with aristocratic hunting parties or forested upland country.
From the historical record
“tocan. Cierto juego de naipes. Montero. El que busca i persizue la caza en el monte, o, la ojea hácia el sitio en que la esperan para tirarla. Montes. Montés. Que anda, está o se cria en los montes, Montesa, Orden militar de España.”
— Diccionario de los apellidos