How common is the surname Monroe?

55,136 people in the United States had the surname Monroe in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 5,600 Americans. It ranked 617th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Monroe?

Marilyn Monroe, American actress and model (1926–1962), followed by Maika Monroe.

Where is the surname Monroe most common?

Wikidata records people named Monroe in the United States.

How do you pronounce Monroe?

Monroe is /mənˈɹoʊ/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Monroe getting more or less common?

More common. 53,475 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 55,136 in 2010, up 3.1%.

Is Monroe also a first name?

Yes. Monroe is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Monroe

A Scottish Gaelic place surname, carried by 55,136 people in the United States.

Pronounced /mənˈɹoʊ/ 2 syllables Soundex M560 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Monroe is more common than 99.6% of them.

Origin

Scottish Gaelic origin

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

Monroe is a place surname: taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.

One of 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 55,136 people named Monroe in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 5,600 Americans. That is up 3.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 53,475.

#617

rank among US surnames

55,136

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+3.1%

change since 2000 (was #567)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#608	Davenport	55,895	5,524
#609	Copeland	55,850	5,528
#610	Massey	55,595	5,553
#611	Lam	55,554	5,558
#612	Huff	55,484	5,565
#613	Rocha	55,251	5,588
#614	Cameron	55,240	5,589

Who is named Monroe

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

63% of people named Monroe identified as white (not Hispanic), 29% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

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

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Monroes

22 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

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, born 1985
Mircea Monroe
American actress, born 1982
Asher Monroe
American dancer and actor, born 1988
Vaughn Monroe
American singer (1911–1973)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Monroe

Monroe has the Soundex code M560, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M560.

Other Scottish Gaelic surnames

All 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Monroe come from?: From Old English mann m (“human being, person, man”) + Roe, a river in Northern Ireland, meaning "man from the River Roe".
How common is the surname Monroe?: 55,136 people in the United States had the surname Monroe in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 5,600 Americans. It ranked 617th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Monroe?: In the 2010 Census, 63% of people named Monroe identified as white (not Hispanic), and 29% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Monroe?: Marilyn Monroe, American actress and model (1926–1962), followed by Maika Monroe.
Where is the surname Monroe most common?: Wikidata records people named Monroe in the United States.
How do you pronounce Monroe?: Monroe is /mənˈɹoʊ/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Monroe?: Monroe is a place surname, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.
Is the surname Monroe getting more or less common?: More common. 53,475 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 55,136 in 2010, up 3.1%.
Is Monroe also a first name?: Yes. Monroe is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.