Martin

Martin is the 22nd most common surname in the United States, shared by 678,691 people at the 2020 census. That is about one person in 440.

By the numbers

People: 678,691
Rank: 22nd
How common: 1 in 440
Per 100,000: 227.1

Where the name comes from

From Middle English Martin, from Latin Mārtīnus (“of or like Mars” or “little Mars”). See Mārs for further etymology.

Etymology from Wiktionary, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Who bears the name

How people with the surname Martin described their own race and Hispanic origin at the 2020 census:

White, not Hispanic 71.8%
Black, not Hispanic 15.4%
Hispanic or Latino 6.7%
Two or more races, not Hispanic 4.1%
Asian or Pacific Islander, not Hispanic 1.1%
American Indian or Alaska Native, not Hispanic 0.9%

Notable people called Martin

George R. R. Martin (born 1948)American writer and television producer
José de San Martín (1778–1850)Argentine general and independence leader
Dean Martin (1917–1995)American singer, actor, comedian and film producer
Chris Martin (born 1977)English singer-songwriter
Paul Martin (born 1938)prime minister of Canada from 2003 to 2006
Steve Martin (born 1945)American comedian, actor, musician and writer
Micheál Martin (born 1960)Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland (2020–2022, 2025–present)
Archer John Porter Martin (1910–2002)British chemist

People named Martin with articles in the most Wikipedia languages. Data from Wikidata (CC0).

Surnames like Martin

Also a first name

Martin has been given to 317,037 American babies as a first name since 1880, peaking in 1963. See it as a given name.

Try it on yourself

Source: US Census Bureau, Frequently Occurring Surnames, 2020. The Census describes the file as the surnames borne by 100 or more people; rarer names are not published. The line is not quite exact, and 617 published names come in under it, the smallest at 92 people. Race and Hispanic origin are self-reported. Rates are worked out against the 298.9 million people the file's own figures are calculated on, which is fewer than the census counted in all: the difference is everyone whose surname was too rare to publish.