Martin (name)
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| Pronunciation |
/ˈmɑːrtɪn/ French: [maʁtɛ̃] German: [ˈmaɐ̯tiːn] Spanish: [marˈtin] Norwegian: [ˈmɑʈɪn] Finnish: [ˈmɑrˈtin] Czech: [ˈmartin] |
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| Gender | Male |
| Word/name | Latin |
| Meaning | "Consecrated to the god Mars" |
| Related names | Martyn, Martti, Marta, Martino, , Mark, Marcus |
Martin may either be a surname or given name.
Martin is a common given and family name in many languages. It comes from the Latin name Martinus, which is a late derived form of the name of the Roman god Mars, the protective godhead of the Latins, and therefore the god of war. The meaning is usually rendered in reference to the god as "of Mars", or "of war/warlike" ("martial").
It has remained a popular given name in Christian times, in honor of Saint Martin of Tours; it is also the most common French surname. Along with its historic Catholic popularity, it has also been popular among Protestants due to Martin Luther. In addition, African American children are often given the name in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.. Additionally, many Black Americans have the name Martin as a family name.
The name is a shorter version of the Latin name Martinus.
With over 230,000 people holding the surname Martin in France, it is the most common French surname. The origins of its frequency can be attributed to Saint Martin of Tours, who was the most popular French saint, but the reason is not clear.
Martin was never a common given name (Christian name) in the Middle Ages, unlike Bernard or Thomas (which were later officialized and became common surnames, nowadays ranking second and third respectively). Onomastics have tried to find other reasons for Martin's popularity, by examining, for example, the repartition of place names, but this explanation also lacks empirical support.
It can be a late surname connected with children of orphanages, like , which was never a common first name in the Middle Ages but now appears quite frequently as a surname. Martin can represent charity towards orphans.
However, this list hides strong regional differences in France and the increasing number of foreign names among the French citizens. Table based on births between 1966 and 1990:
Martín, with an accent on the “i” and pronounced [mar 'tin] (mar-teen) is a common given name and is also among the most common surnames in Spain. Its Catalan variant is Martí and in Galician is Martiño. Jewish families in medieval Spain (Sephardic) Jews who remained in Spain and agreed to accept Christianity were asked to change their surnames. One of the names taken up by these Jewish conversos (originally known in Spain as Marranos, but preferred term is 'anusim' which is Hebrew for "forced") was “Martí” (also spelled "Marty"). Sephardic Jews also used Martin or Martinez, as a variation from the Hebrew name Mordecai.
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Wikipedia