Martia
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "warlike" or "feminine of Mars".
Name Census estimates that about 364 living Americans carry the first name Martia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Martia today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Martia births was 1991 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Martia. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Martia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
364
~ 1 in 941,633 Americans
Peak year
1991
27 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2009 SSA rank
#16,533
Tracked since 1954
Census
Martia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 486 people with the first name Martia, which placed it at #21,031 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
#21,031
National first-name rank
People counted
486
486 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
58.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Martia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Martia is Black at 58.6%. The next largest groups are White (21.6%) and Hispanic (13.4%). 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 Martia 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 Martia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American58.6% · 285
- White21.6% · 105
- Hispanic or Latino13.4% · 65
- Two or more races3.9% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 4
Popularity
Martia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Martia from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 169 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Martia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Martia 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 Martia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Martias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Martia
The name Martia is a feminine given name with roots dating back to ancient Roman times. It is derived from the Latin word "Mars," which was the name of the Roman god of war. Mars was one of the most important deities in Roman mythology, and his name was associated with strength, courage, and military prowess.
Martia was initially used as a surname or cognomen in ancient Rome, often given to those who displayed martial qualities or had connections to the cult of Mars. Over time, it transitioned into a feminine given name, reflecting the admiration and respect for the qualities associated with the god Mars.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Martia can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Livy, who mentioned a woman named Martia Proba in his work "Ab Urbe Condita" (From the Foundation of the City), which recounts the history of Rome. Martia Proba lived during the 1st century BC and was known for her virtues and moral character.
Another notable figure bearing the name Martia was Martia Fulvia, a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century BC. She was the wife of Marcus Antonius (Marc Antony) and played a significant role in the political intrigues of the late Roman Republic. Martia Fulvia was known for her intelligence, ambition, and involvement in the power struggles of her time.
In the early Christian era, the name Martia gained religious significance. Saint Martia was a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century AD and was executed for her faith during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Decius. Her steadfast devotion and courage in the face of adversity made her a revered figure in early Christian communities.
During the Renaissance period, the name Martia was popularized by the Italian poet and scholar Martia Accoramboni, who lived from 1550 to 1598. She was renowned for her literary talents and her involvement in the intellectual circles of her time, contributing to the cultural renaissance of the era.
Another notable figure with the name Martia was Martia Gaskill, an American educator and activist who lived from 1825 to 1908. She was a pioneer in the field of education for women and played a crucial role in establishing the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, one of the earliest institutions of higher education for women in the United States.
The name Martia has carried a rich historical legacy, reflecting the qualities of strength, courage, and resilience associated with its Roman origins. While its usage may have varied over time, it has remained a testament to the enduring influence of ancient Roman culture and the admiration for the virtues embodied by the god Mars.
People
Martia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Martia 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
Martia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Martia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 364 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Martia 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 941,633 US residents.
Is Martia a common name?
We classify Martia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 383 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Martia most popular?
The single biggest year for Martia was 1991, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Martia is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Martia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 486 people with the name Martia, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,031 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 Martia 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 Martia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Martia leans strongly female. 463 people counted with this name were female (95.5%), compared with 22 male bearers (4.5%). 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 Martia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Martia is Black at 58.6%. The next largest groups are White (21.6%) and Hispanic (13.4%). 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 Martia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Martia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.6% (285 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 Martia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Martia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Martia in the SSA data are female. 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 Martia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Martia 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 Martia 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 share the name Martia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.