# Monroe (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/monroe/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A Scottish topographic surname from Scottish Gaelic from Gaelic words meaning "foot of a hill"

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Scottish Gaelic |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 55,136 |
| US rank (2010) | 617 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 5,600 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.1% (53,475 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /mənˈɹoʊ/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Old English mann m (“human being, person, man”) + Roe, a river in Northern Ireland, meaning "man from the River Roe".

## Who carries it

Share of people named Monroe in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 63% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 29% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3.3% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.5% |
| Two or more races | 2.5% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Monroe in the United States.

## People named Monroe

- Marilyn Monroe, American actress and model (1926–1962)
- Maika Monroe, American actress (born 1993)
- Bill Monroe, American bluegrass musician, songwriter (1911-1996)
- Greg Monroe, American basketball player (born 1990)
- Earl Monroe, American basketball player (born 1944)
- Meredith Monroe, American actress (born 1968)
- Harriet Monroe, American poet and editor (1860-1936)
- Robert Monroe, American founder of The Monroe Institute (1915–1995)
- Memphis Monroe, American model, pornographic actress and actress
- Mircea Monroe, American actress
- Asher Monroe, American dancer and actor
- Vaughn Monroe, American singer (1911–1973)

and 10 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Monroy, Munro, Munroe, Monnier, Monier, Minero, Minor, Miner, Maynor, Manor, Meunier, Minner.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.