Contents [hide]

Mountain History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies South Africa

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Sources

Mountain History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France

Etymology of Mountain

What does the name Mountain mean?

The history of the Mountain family goes back to the Medieval landscape of southern France, to a region known as Languedoc. It is derived from the family living on or near a hill. The surname could be translated as "dweller on the hill." Further research revealed that the name is derived from the Old French word "montaine," which means "hill."

Early Origins of the Mountain family

The surname Mountain was first found in Languedoc in south-east France where they were distinguished members of the aristocracy, and held a family seat at Montiver.

They were also in Moulines and at Poncins in Forez. This family also changed their name in Holland to Van den Bergh, where they held lands. The Moulines branch moved to Velay and preferred the spelling Montagnat. This latter branch established estates in Lyonnais to the east of Languedoc. By the 16th century the title of the Montaigne had passed to the family of Eyquem in Perigord. Michel Eyquem, Seigneur de Montaigne, 1533-1592, was a writer, moralist, and councillor of Parliament in Bordeaux, he was born at Castle Montaigne and died there.

François Lamontagne, son of Renaud and Jeanne, travelled from France to Canada in the 17th century. After arriving in Quebec he married Anne Philippe, daughter of Jacques and Anne, on 24th November 1671. They remained together in the province of Quebec until François passed away at the age of 65 on 10th April 1701. 1

Early History of the Mountain family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mountain research. Another 30 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1533 and 1592 are included under the topic Early Mountain History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mountain Spelling Variations

French surnames were subject to numerous alterations in spelling because of the various cultural groups that inhabited specific regions. Eventually, each region possessed its own local dialect of the French language. The early development of the French language, however, was also influenced by other languages. For example, Old French was infused with Germanic words and sounds when barbarian tribes invaded and settled in France after the fall of the Roman Empire. Middle French also borrowed heavily from the Italian language during the Renaissance. As a result of these linguistic and cultural influences, the name Mountain is distinguished by a number of regional variations. The many spelling variations of the name include Montaigne, Montaign, Montagne, Montagnat, Mountain, Lamontaigne, Lamontagne 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 8,627^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Mountain migration to the United States +

France finally gave land incentives for 2,000 migrants during the 1700s. Early marriage was encouraged in New France, and youths of 18 took fourteen-year-old girls for their wives. The fur trade was developed and attracted migrants, both noble and commoner from France. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries, leaving French names scattered across the continent. The search for the Northwest passage continued. Migration from France to New France or Quebec, as it was now more popularly called, continued until 1759. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In the treaty of Utrecht, the Acadians were ceded by France to Britain in 1713. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported. They found refuge in Louisiana. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the French race flourished, founding in Lower Canada, one of the two great solitudes which became Canada. Many of this distinguished family name Mountain were prominent in social, cultural, religious and political affairs in France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Mountain 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.)

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

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.)

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

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

Historic Events for the Mountain family +

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

Sources +

Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
"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)
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 13th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/blackfriar
South Australian Register Tuesday 3 February 1852. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) BARQUE CAUCASIAN 1852. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/caucasian1852.shtml
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's (Retrieved October 4th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 20) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 17) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html
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