Munro

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records, and ○ marks a model's transliteration; click a spelling to open its page.

Attested in 1 language in the etymology graph.

Names that people choosing a name often weigh against Munro, most often first. They share a style rather than an origin.

• Arran
• Finlay
• Fraser
• Ewan
• Angus

From the names suggested together in public name-advice forums, in English. A list of what people consider, not a measure of how common any name is.

Munro is also recorded as 2 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish surname6 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian

  Also written Munró, Münro

• a separate name2 spellings in the group

45 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Munro is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, Gaelic Rothach ‘man from Ro’; first attested none given in entry

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• In Ireland, Munroe has come to replace the surname Mulroy in some cases.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In English, A Scottish surname from Scottish Gaelic, variant of Monroe

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, Hector Hugh, Scottish writer

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In English, Munroe [Saki]

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

• Alice Munrob. 1931CACanadian writer (1931–2024)
• Caroline Munrob. 1949GBEnglish actress and model
• Lochlyn Munrob. 1966CACanadian actor (born 1966)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

47 registers and reference works attest this spelling, across 28 countries.

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

What does the name Munro mean?

Recorded meaning: Probably a location name; 14th-century form de Monro.

Where does the name Munro come from?

Probably a location name; 14th-century form de Monro. Associated with Easter Ross and Clann an Rothaich, ‘family of Roe’; possible Gaelic roots monadh ruadh or bun ruadh ‘red hill/mount’. Recorded by Scottish Surnames.

Which countries have the most people with the surname Munro?

In the United States, the national register counted about 55 thousand people named Monroe, more than in any other country we hold. After it come United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and South Africa; the country table on this page ranks them.

Where is Munro most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Munro is densest in Grenada — about 1 in 850 people — even though United States holds more of our records for it.

How common is the name Munro?

In Grenada, the national register counted 133 people named Munro in 2025, about 1 in 850 residents.

How common is Munro compared with other names?

In New Zealand, Munro is the 273rd most common surname of 87,225 surnames recorded there.