Show ContentsMountain History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Mountain family

The surname Mountain 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 Mountain family

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

Mountain Spelling Variations

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

Early Notables of the Mountain family

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

Mountain Ranking

In the United States, the name Mountain is the 8,627th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2


United States Mountain migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Mountain Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Alice Mountain, who arrived in Virginia in 1733
Mountain Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • James Mountain, who arrived in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1802 3
  • Dennis Mountain, who died on route in 1847
  • Benedictus Switzof Mountain, who settled in California in 1863
  • Daniel James Mountain, who settled in Michigan in 1870
  • William Mountain, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1875 3
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Canada Mountain migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Mountain Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Robert Mountain, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1835
  • Mr. Dennis Mountain, aged 9 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Bee" departing 17th April 1847 from Cork, Ireland; the ship arrived on 12th June 1847 but he died on board 4
  • Mr. Dennis Mountain, aged 1 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Bee" departing 17th April 1847 from Cork, Ireland; the ship arrived on 12th June 1847 but he died on board 4
  • Flora J. Mountain, who arrived in Prince Edward Island in 1891
  • Ann Mountain, who settled in Prince Edward Island in 1891

Australia Mountain migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Mountain Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Miss Jane Mountain, (b. 1836), aged 15, Irish nurse girl who was convicted in Kilkenny, Ireland for 15 years for highway robbery, transported aboard the "Blackfriar" on 24th January 1851, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 5
  • Mrs. Mary Mountain, (b. 1823), aged 28, Irish house wife who was convicted in Kilkenny, Ireland for 15 years for highway robbery, transported aboard the "Blackfriar" on 24th January 1851, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), she died in 1870 5
  • Charles Mountain, aged 12, who arrived in South Australia in 1852 aboard the ship "Caucasian" 6
  • William Mountain, aged 15, who arrived in South Australia in 1852 aboard the ship "Caucasian" 6
  • Maria Mountain, aged 7, who arrived in South Australia in 1852 aboard the ship "Caucasian" 6
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand Mountain migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Mountain Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Miss Mary A. Mountain, (b. 1849), aged 24, English servant from Yorkshire travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Surat" going to Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand in 1873, the ship sunk at the Catlins River all the passengers were transported to Dunedin via various rescure vessels 7

West Indies Mountain 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. 8
Mountain Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Jo Mountain, aged 20, who landed in St Christopher in 1635 3
  • Mr. John Mountain, (b. 1615), aged 20, British settler traveling aboard the ship "Paul of London" arriving in St Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Mountain (post 1700) +

  • Worrall Frederick Mountain (1909-1992), American Republican politician, Superior Court Judge in New Jersey, 1966-71; Associate justice of New Jersey State Supreme Court, 1971-79 10
  • Worrall F. Mountain, American politician, Mayor of East Orange, New Jersey, 1915-17 10
  • H. W. Mountain, American Republican politician, Mayor of Ironton, Ohio; Elected 1901 10
  • Kenesaw Mountain Landis (1866-1944), American jurist/baseball commissioner

Empress of Ireland
  • Mr. Thomas Mountain, British Fireman from United Kingdom who worked aboard the Empress of Ireland (1914) and survived the sinking 11
HMS Royal Oak
  • Francis Mountain (1917-1939), British Able Seaman with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 12


  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. 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)
  4. Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 90)
  5. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 13th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/blackfriar
  6. South Australian Register Tuesday 3 February 1852. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) BARQUE CAUCASIAN 1852. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/caucasian1852.shtml
  7. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  9. Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's (Retrieved October 4th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  10. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 20) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  11. Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 17) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html
  12. Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html


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