Montenegro History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Montenegro family

The surname Montenegro was first found in Essex where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Dracon Mountigni of Calvados in Normandy who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. Robert de Munteigni was recorded in Essex in 1177. Alexander Muntini was in Essex in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273.

Early History of the Montenegro family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Montenegro research. Another 70 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1208 is included under the topic Early Montenegro History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Montenegro Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Mounteney, Mountenay, Montigni, Monteigni, Mountnay and many more.

Early Notables of the Montenegro family

More information is included under the topic Early Montenegro Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Montenegro Ranking

In the United States, the name Montenegro is the 4,925^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2

Montenegro migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Montenegro Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Juan De Montenegro, who arrived in America in 1813 3
Feliciano Montenegro, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1822 3
Garcia De Montenegro, who landed in America in 1827 3
Antonio Montenegro, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1831 3
Jose Montenegro, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1842 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Montenegro migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 4

Montenegro Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century

Ana De Montenegro, who arrived in Dominican Republic in 1877 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Montenegro (post 1700) +

Steve Montenegro, American Republican politician, Presidential Elector for Arizona, 2012 5
Haydee Montenegro, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New Jersey, 1996, 2000 (alternate) 5
Sasha Montenegro (1946-2024), Mexican actress of Montenegrin descent, wife of José López Portillo, President of Mexico from 1976 to 1982
Mr. David Alan Montenegro O.B.E., British Red 1 Squadron Leader for the Royal Air Force, was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 29th December 2018 6
Jesús Gómez Portugal Montenegro (1941-2017), Mexican bronze medalist equestrian at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Dr. Julio César Méndez Montenegro, Guatemalan law professor and politician, former President of Guatemala
Orlando Montenegro Medrano (1920-1988), Nicaraguan politician and attorney, acting President of Nicaragua in 1966, following the death of President René Schick
César Montenegro Paniagua, Guatemalan Communist politician

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 13) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
"Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists