Montoya
A Spanish surname most often linked to a place name built from words for a mountain or hill, especially in northern Spain.
The #459 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 4,297 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Montoya is a Spanish surname that likely began as a habitational name, referring to someone from a place called Montoya. The first element is almost certainly from Latin mons, montis, meaning “mountain” or “hill.” The second element is less certain; in older scholarship it has been explained in different ways, but the surname is generally treated as toponymic rather than descriptive of a person.
History
The name is strongly associated with Spain and later spread widely through the Spanish-speaking world. Historical mentions in older genealogical writing place the family among noble or landed lines in Iberia, though the surname itself is not exclusive to nobility. Today it is common in Spain and especially in Latin America and the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because Montoya is often a place-based surname, different unrelated families could adopt it from different localities named Montoya.
From the historical record
“Montoro. Anticuado, montuoso. Montoya. Cierto baile. Monzon. Viento firme que sopla por mucho tiempo de un lado.—MoONZON. Vientos o vientos periódicos del mar de las Indias, que desde Abril a Avosto soplan del $. O. al N. O., i de Octubre a Febrero del N. E. al S. O.”
— Diccionario de los apellidos