Martin

What Martin means

Means “of or like Mars”

From Middle English Martin, from Latin Mārtīnus (“of or like Mars” or “little Mars”), Mārs, Mārtis +‎ -īnus (diminutive suffix).

Source: Wiktionary, “Martin” (revision 93517211), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Martin?

US: Falling: down from #275 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #242 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1883, when 377 boys got the name (#46 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 1,693 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 2,365 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,964 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in DC (3.96 per 1,000 boys), AZ (1.25 per 1,000 boys), MN (1.18 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Martin is #335 in the US and #363 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Martin were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Mardin0 US · 5 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Martin

Boys

• Paul#262“small”^*
• Mark#244Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1960, with 58,727 babies; 1,416 in 2025
• Lawrence#518Editor’s note Down from #499 in 2015 to #518 in 2025 in the US
• Justin#233“just”^*
• Marcus#258Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1984, with 5,996 babies; 1,341 in 2025
• Anthony#46“flower”^*

For a sister

• Laura#379“laurel tree”^*
• Amanda#493“to love”^*
• Sara#198Variant of Sarah, meaning “masters, princes”^*
• Gloria#654“glory”^*
• Priscilla#544“former, ancient, old-fashioned”^*
• Monica#736Editor’s note Down from #559 in 2015 to #736 in 2025 in the US

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Latin, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Martin’s. Rank is US 2025.