Montgomery is a Norman French surname and place name from Sainte-Foy-de-Montgommery in Normandy, meaning "Gomeric's hill" or "hill of the powerful man". In America it is the state capital of Alabama and recalls the actor Montgomery Clift and the British field marshal Montgomery of Alamein; Monty is the usual short form. Montgomery climbed from number 1549 in 2000 to number 962 among boys' names in 2025, its first year in the US top 1000 in this century.