Marty
Torn between Marty and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
of Mars, warlike (nickname form of Martin); immortalized by Marty McFly in Back to the Future (1985)
The story
Marty is Martin off duty, a nickname that traces all the way back to Mars, the Roman god of war, though it has never sounded remotely warlike. Hollywood has loved it twice. In 1955 the film Marty, with Ernest Borgnine as a lonely Bronx butcher looking for love, won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and the name's American peak arrived in exactly those years, the 1950s and 1960s; we cannot prove the connection, but the timing is hard to ignore. Thirty years later Michael J. Fox's Marty McFly drove a DeLorean through Back to the Future and gave the name its permanent teenage grin. By then the numbers had already eased, and Marty has held a modest, steady level ever since: a friendly midcentury classic with two of the movies' most likable characters in its corner.
The formal names behind Marty
Marty is an established short form of each of these names.
Martin · Latin origin · of Mars, warlike
Martha · Aramaic origin · lady, mistress; Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, and historically Crown Princess Märtha, celebrated for aiding Norwegian refugees during WWII
How popular is Marty around the world?
In the United States, 344 babies were named Marty between 2020 and 2025. In France, about 40 boys named Marty were born in 2025, the 934th most common name among boys that year.
Marty is on the official records of the United States, France, Canada, Mexico City, England and Wales and Brazil.
United States
1 in 63,000
In the United States, 344 babies were named Marty between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Marty peaked in the 1950s and the 1960s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
France
1 in 16,000
In France, about 40 boys named Marty were born in 2025, the 934th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Canada
1 in 52,000
In Canada, 7 boys named Marty were born in 2024, ranked 2,550th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Mexico City City
1 in 59,000
In Mexico City, there were 2 registrations of Marty in 2022.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
England and Wales
1 in 65,000
In England and Wales, 9 boys named Marty were born in 2025, ranked 2,440th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Argentina
last on record 2022
Marty is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Austria
last on record 2018
Marty is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Brazil
At the 2022 census, 26 people in Brazil were named Marty, ranked 104,241st, with a median age of 28.
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Ireland
last on record 2024
Marty is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Scotland
last on record 2023
Marty is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
South Australia
last on record 2011
Marty is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Spain, Puerto Rico, New Zealand and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Marty
Most people given the name Marty in the United States were born between 1950 and 1979. The Marty you meet today is most often in his 50s or 60s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Marty deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Marty 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 Marty fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Marty fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Marty to your family’s tree →