Montezuma

Boys' name

He frowns like a lord

Montezuma has been given to 5 babies in the U.S. since 2023. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 2023, with 5 recorded.

Babies named Montezuma, 2023

1 in 663,000

Montezuma over time, 1880–2025

Boys

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Montezuma: meaning, origin, and history

He frowns like a lord

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Montezuma means

Montezuma means “he frowns like a lord”, associated with Motēuczōma.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

From Classical Nahuatl Motēuczōma (literally “he frowns like a lord”).

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Montezuma (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Montezuma is used in English.

Montezuma comes through Classical Nahuatl Motēuczōma.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Montezuma is pronounced /mɒntɪˈzuːmə/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 5 boys were recorded with the name Montezuma between 2023 and 2023. Its highest annual count was 5 in 2023; its best national rank was #13,519 in 2023.

How common is Montezuma?

Montezuma had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 2023, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 2023: 1 in 663,000; 5 of 3,314,783 births
Among boys only: 1 in 342,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 2023: Unranked; Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size: 459,528 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Montezuma sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2023 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 459,528 children born in 2023 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Montezuma. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Montezumas were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Montezuma was born before 2023 — so the typical Montezuma is around 2 today.

Median birth year: 2023; About 2 years old
Biggest decade: 2020s; 100.0% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 100.0%; A modern name
Recorded since 1950: 5; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

2020s — 100.0% of all recorded uses (5).

Is Montezuma rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: —; Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago: New entry; Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago: —; Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago: —; Not published both years
Share of its own peak: 0%; Peak was 2023 (5)
Years since peak: 2; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Not enough data; Too few years
Best rank ever: #13,519; 2023

Montezuma by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #13,519; 2023
Peak year: 2023; 5 that year
First recorded: 2023
Last recorded: 2023
All-time count: 5
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Montezuma

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Sibling names for Montezuma

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Isha Oaklee Jenesis Kamari Ellianna Promise Salem Sariyah

For a brother

Gian Rishi Gray Koen Yael Anakin Eleazar Briar

Explore around Montezuma

Top names of 2023, Montezuma's peak year The 2020s in full Other names that peaked in 2023 Boys' names starting with M