Martin

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Martin

Gender: Masculine
Language: English, French
Etymology:
Martin is the English form of Martinus, a variant of Martius, a Latin name meaning “Of Mars,” the Roman god of war.

History:
Martin, being the name of St. Martin of Tours (a popular medieval saint) was common all over Europe and can be found in northern France from the 9th century onwards.

The Normans popularized the name in England, and it was quite common from the 12th century until the Reformation rather dampened the appeal of saint names. It never became really unpopular in Protestant countries, however, probably because it was Martin Luther who began the Reformation. It has never gone out of fashion.

Pronunciation: marr-tin.

Diminutives:
English: Marty.

Alternates:
Breton: Marzhin.
Catalan: Martí.
Danish: Morten, Mort.
Dutch: Marten, Maarten, Martijn.
Finnish: Martti.
German (Low): Marten.
Hawaiian: Malakina.
Hungarian: Marton.
Irish Gaelic: Martan, Máirtín.
Italian: Martino.
Latin: Martinus.
Norwegian: Morton.
Polish: Martyn, Marcin.
Portuguese: Martinho.
Scottish Gaelic: Mártainn.
Spanish: Martín.
Swedish: Mårten.
Swiss: Marti.

Surnames:
Dutch: Martense.

Feminine: Martina, Martine.

Famous Bearers:
Artists and Authors:
Martin Schongauer (1445-1491 )
German painter.
Martin Agricola (Sohr) (1486-1556 )
Polish composer.
Martin Opitz (1597-1639 )
German poet.
Martin Droeshout (1601-1650)
English engraver.
Martin Andersen Nexø (1869-1954 )
Danish novelist.
Martin Kock (1882-1940 )
Swedish novelist.
Martín Luis Guzmán (1887-1976 )
Mexican novelist.
Martin Boyd (1893-1972 )
English-Australian novelist.
Martinus Nijhoff (1894-1953 )
Dutch poet.
Martin Alfred Hansen (1909-1955 )
Danish author.
Morton Gould (1813-1996 )
American composer.
Morten Nielsen (1922-1944 )
Danish poet.
Morton Feldman (1926-1987 )
American composer.

Educators, Scholars, and Social Workers:
Martin Waldseemüller (1470-1518 )
German cartographer.
Martin Chemnitz (1522-1586 )
German theologian.
Martin Delany (1812-1885)
American Abolitionist, and social reformer.
Martin Buber (1878-1965 )
German-Jewish philosopher.
Martin Dibelius (1883-1947 )
German biblical scholar.
Martin Heidegger (1889-1976 )
German philosopher.
Martin Noth (1902-1968)
German theologian.
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968 )
American civil rights leader. Assassinated.

Miscellaneous:
Martin Behaim (1459-1507 )
German explorer, navigator, and mapmaker.
Sir Martin Frobisher (1535-1594 )
English explorer of Canada.
Maarten Tromp (1598-1653 )
Dutch admiral.
Martin Sheridan (1881-1918 )
Irish-American Olympic athlete.

Political Figures:
Martin-Michel-Charles Gaudin, Duc de Gaëte (1756-1841 )
French finance minister.
Martin Van Buren (1782-1862 )
8th president of the United States.
Martin Bormann (1900-1945 )
Nazi.
Martin Dies, Jr. (1901-1972 )
American politician.
Martti Ahtisaari (1937- )
President of Finland.
Martin Thembisile Hani (1942-1993 )
South African political activist.

Religious Figures:
Saint Martin of Tours (316-397)
A patron saint of France.
Saint Martin I (?-655)
Pope from 649 to 655.
Martin IV (Simon de Brion) (1210-1285)
Pope from 1281 to 1285.
Martin V (Oddo Colonna) (1368-1431 )
Pope from 1417 to 1431.
Martin Luther (1483-1546 )
Founder of Protestantism.
Saint Martín de Porres (1579-1639 )
Peruvian saint. Patron of social justice.

Royalty:
Martin (1356-1410)
King of Aragon. Also, King Martin II of Sicily.
Martin I (1374-1409)
Prince of Aragon, King of Sicily.

Scientists:
Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1743-1817 )
German chemist.
Martin Rathke (1793-1860)
German anatomist.
Martin Julian Buerger (1903- )
American crystallographer.
Martin Schwarzschild (1912-1997 )
German-American astronomer.
Sir Martin Ryle (1918-1984 )
British radio astronomer.
Martin Rodbell (1925-1998 )
American biochemist. Winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.
Martin Lewis Perl (1927- )
American physicist. WInner of the 1995 Nobel Prize for Physics.
Maarten Schmidt (1929- )
Dutch-American astronomer.

Singers and Entertainers:
Martin Balsam (1919-1996 )
American actor.
Martin Ritt (1914-1990 )
American filmmaker.
Martin Scorsese (1942- )
American filmmaker.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.216 % named Martin
0.024 % named Marty

Popularity of Martin:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1800: 25th most popular.
1850: 26th most popular.
1875: 38th most popular.
1900-1910: 66th most popular.
1910-1920: 79th most popular.
1920-1930: 84th most popular.
1930-1940: 94th most popular.
1940-1950: 93rd most popular.
1950-1960: 78th most popular.
1960-1970: 70th most popular.
1970-1980: 108th most popular.
1980-1990: 127th most popular.
1990: 108th most popular.
1991: 113th most popular.
1992: 116th most popular.
1993: 120th most popular.
1994: 130th most popular.
1995: 143rd most popular.
1996: 150th most popular.
1997: 158th most popular.
1998: 169th most popular.
1999: 174th most popular.
2000: 177th most popular.
2001: 186th most popular.
2002: 190th most popular.
2003: 199th most popular.

In France...
1900: 76th most popular.
1910: 91st most popular.
1920: 144th most popular.
1930: 125th most popular.
1940: 138th most popular.
1950: 132nd most popular.
1960: 164th most popular.
1966: 179th most popular.
1970: N/A
1979: 174th most popular.
1980: 179th most popular.
1990: 89th most popular.
2000: 55th most popular.

In Ireland...
1998: 64th most popular.
1999: 64th most popular.
2000: 62nd most popular.
2001: 70th most popular.
2002: 75th most popular.
2003: 74th most popular.

Popularity of Marty:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1940: N/A
1940-1950: 647th most popular.
1950-1960: 273rd most popular.
1960-1970: 223rd most popular.
1970-1980: 329th most popular.
1980-1990: 624th most popular.
1990: 828th most popular.
1991: 883rd most popular.
1992: 991st most popular.
1993: N/A
1994: 978th most popular.
1995: N/A