Mart
A shortened form of the name Martin, derived from Mars, the Roman god of war.
Name Census estimates that about 480 living Americans carry the first name Mart. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Mart today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mart births was 1958 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mart. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
480
~ 1 in 714,072 Americans
Peak year
1958
28 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
2006 SSA rank
#13,306
Tracked since 1880
Census
Mart in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,038 people with the first name Mart, which placed it at #12,115 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#12,115
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,038 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mart
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mart is White at 71.7%. The next largest groups are Black (10.3%) and Hispanic (9.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Mart described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Mart at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.7% · 744
- Black or African American10.3% · 107
- Hispanic or Latino9.1% · 94
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.4% · 56
- Two or more races2.2% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 14
Popularity
Mart: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mart from the 1880s through to the 2000s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 180 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mart by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Mart during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marts live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Oklahoma recorded the most babies named Mart, while Oklahoma, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mart
The name Mart has its origins in the Latin language and is derived from the name Martius, which was a Roman family name. Martius itself is believed to have been derived from the name of the Roman god Mars, who was the god of war.
In ancient Roman culture, the month of March was named after Mars, and the name Martius was often given to children born during this month. Over time, the name evolved into various forms, including Mart, which became a common given name in its own right.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Mart can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Livy, who lived in the 1st century BC. He mentions several individuals with the name Martius or its variations, indicating that the name was in use during the Roman Republic.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Mart. One of the earliest was Mart Merian (1593-1650), a Swiss naturalist and engraver known for his detailed illustrations of plants and animals. He was a pioneer in the field of natural history and his works were highly influential in their time.
Another notable figure was Mart Saar (1882-1963), an Estonian writer and poet who played a significant role in the development of Estonian literature during the early 20th century. His works were often inspired by the natural beauty of his homeland and explored themes of national identity and cultural heritage.
In the realm of sports, Mart Poom (born 1971) is a former Estonian football goalkeeper who represented his country at the international level and played for various clubs in England and Scotland during his professional career.
Moving to the world of politics, Mart Laar (born 1960) is an Estonian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Estonia from 1992 to 1994 and again from 1999 to 2002. He played a crucial role in Estonia's transition to a market economy and its integration into Western political and economic structures.
Lastly, Mart Stam (1899-1986) was a Dutch architect and designer who was a prominent figure in the Modernist movement. He is best known for designing the iconic Tugendhat House in Brno, Czech Republic, which is considered a masterpiece of modern architecture and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Mart, highlighting its enduring presence across various fields and cultures.
People
Mart + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mart as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Mart: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mart?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 480 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mart going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 714,072 US residents.
Is Mart a common name?
We classify Mart as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,039 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mart most popular?
The single biggest year for Mart was 1958, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mart is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mart in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,038 people with the name Mart, or 0.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,115 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Mart in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Mart?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Mart on both sides of the split. Of the 1,033 people counted with this name, 656 were male (63.5%) and 377 were female (36.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Mart?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mart is White at 71.7%. The next largest groups are Black (10.3%) and Hispanic (9.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Mart most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Mart in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.7% (744 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Mart in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mart a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mart in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Mart still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mart in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Mart can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Mart as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.