Martin
Meaning
of Mars, warlike
Goes by Marty
Also written Martín.
Name day: November 11 in the Roman calendar of saints (Saint Martin of Tours).
The story
Martin descends from the Latin Martinus, a name honoring Mars, the Roman god of war, yet its most famous bearer turned it toward peace: Martin of Tours, the fourth-century soldier who, in the old stories, cut his cloak in two to clothe a freezing beggar and became one of Europe's best-loved saints. Martin Luther carried the name through the Reformation, and Martin Luther King Jr. gave it its greatest American resonance. Through it all the name itself has kept an unbroken run in the United States: present in the records from the very first decade they cover and never once absent since, worn steadily by each new generation rather than seized by any single one. Few names can claim so continuous a history. Martin is the kind of classic that owes little to fashion, a name that history keeps handing forward, father to son, century to century.
On record since at least the 4th century: Saint Martin of Tours.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Martin peaked in the 1890s and the 1900s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
10,050 people · the #1,710 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 20,408 · median age 10
Among people named Martin living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 3,022 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Martin
People given the name Martin in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1999. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Martin deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Martin truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Martin fits with your family’s names and surname.
Keep exploring
Nicknames for Martin · Saint names for babies and confirmation · Names of revolutionaries and liberators
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