Montalvo

Montalvo is a topographic surname that apparently originated in the medieval era in the French-Italian border region near Mont Blanc. Today it is used by people of Spanish, Portuguese or Italian origins. The surname, according to historical record, originated in the Mont Blanc region in France, and was used by Cathars. Since the Cathars were persecuted by the Roman Catholic church, in an effort to escape torture, some Mont Blancs fled to other areas in France, some fled to the area of Napoli, in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, where residents of that area were referred to as being from "de Monte Alto," a high mountain or hill, later, "de Montalto." It has been suggested that a particular group of Greek Jews that had migrated to that area of Napoli, eventually migrated to the Iberian peninsula carrying with them the surname, which by then had morphed into Monte Alvo (Mont Albus or Montalvo); this account is in dispute. It is also a matter of historical fact that some Sephardic Cathar-convert and non-Sephardic Cather Montalvos also fled to Spain, where they were knights of the Order of Santiago. Some of these knights were also, apparently, Templar knights. The surname, depending on where these Jewish or non-Jewish carriers of the surname settled, is spelled or had morphed into different forms: Montalto, Monthault, Montalt, Montalvo, Montblanc, Montalban, Maude (England), Montaldi, etc. Montalvo also refers to: