Montez
A surname most likely tied to the word for a hill or mountain, or to a place-name built from that root.
The #3,539 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 30,578 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Montez is most plausibly linked to Romance words based on Latin "mons" meaning "mountain" or "hill." In Spanish and Portuguese, forms like "monte" mean a hill, mountain, or wooded rise, and surnames built from that element often began as place-names or topographic descriptions. The final -z can reflect Spanish surname shaping or a later spelling adaptation, so the exact development may differ by family line.
History
The name is found in the modern Spanish-speaking world and in diasporic communities, especially in the Americas. In some cases it may be a variant or spelling adaptation of surnames built on "Monte" or related place-names rather than a single, fixed medieval origin. Because the only provided excerpt is incidental and not a true surname entry, the explanation here rests mainly on general onomastic patterning.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The root behind Montez is the same Latin word family that gave English words like "mountain" through Romance languages.
From the historical record
“, VfkCKf Rom. de Brut, ▼• 1302. Les escui pris, se sont montez Et lor conreiz ont devisez* Bsii., Rom. de Troie^ ▼. 10991.”
— Noms de famille normands