Marten
Of Germanic origin, a derivative of Mars, the Roman god of war.
Name Census estimates that about 386 living Americans carry the first name Marten. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Marten today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marten births was 1963 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marten. 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
386
~ 1 in 887,965 Americans
Peak year
1963
17 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,503
Tracked since 1915
Popularity
Marten: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marten from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 98 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marten 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 Marten during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Martens live
Origin
Meaning and history of Marten
Marten is a masculine given name with its origins tracing back to the Dutch language. The name is derived from the Late Latin name "Martinus," which is a derivative of the Roman god Mars, the god of war. The name gained popularity during the early medieval period in the Netherlands and surrounding regions.
The name Marten has a strong association with Saint Martin of Tours, a 4th-century Roman soldier who later became a monk and bishop. His life and teachings were widely celebrated in Christian traditions, contributing to the widespread use of the name throughout Europe.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Marten can be found in the 10th-century Dutch literary work "Van den Vos Reynaerde" (Reynard the Fox), where a character named Marten the Ape appears. This literary reference highlights the long-standing presence of the name in the Dutch cultural context.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Marten. One prominent figure was Marten Heemskerk (c. 1498-1566), a Dutch naval officer and explorer who led several expeditions to the Arctic regions in search of a northern passage to Asia.
Another famous Marten was Marten de Rij (1851-1926), a Dutch painter and etcher known for his landscape and cityscape depictions of the Netherlands. His works captured the beauty and charm of Dutch cities and countryside during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In the field of science, Marten Soolmans (1550-1608) was a Dutch astronomer and mathematician who made significant contributions to the understanding of celestial mechanics and the motion of planets.
Marten Eskil Winge (1825-1896) was a Norwegian historian and archivist who played a crucial role in preserving and documenting the country's historical records and archives.
Lastly, Marten Mees (1835-1899) was a Dutch-born American businessman and philanthropist who established the Mees Observatory at the University of Rochester, fostering astronomical research and education in the United States.
These examples demonstrate the rich history and cultural significance of the name Marten, spanning various fields and regions across Europe and beyond.
People
Marten + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marten 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
Marten: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marten?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 386 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marten 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 887,965 US residents.
Is Marten a common name?
We classify Marten as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 506 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marten most popular?
The single biggest year for Marten was 1963, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marten is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Marten a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Marten 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.
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.