Marty
A diminutive form of Martin, derived from Mars, the Roman god of war.
Name Census estimates that about 29,853 living Americans carry the first name Marty. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 88.7% of registrations being male. The average person named Marty today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marty births was 1962 (1,736 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marty. 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.
Key insights
- • Compared to the 1960s, recent registration numbers for Marty have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
30K
~ 1 in 11,481 Americans
Peak year
1962
1,736 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,608
Tracked since 1896
Gender
Gender distribution for Marty
Marty leans heavily male at 88.7% of total registrations, but 4,076 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Marty as a male name
- Ranked #2,608 in 2024
- 51 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1962 (1,614 births)
Marty as a female name
- Ranked #7,898 in 2023
- 14 female births in 2023
- Peak: 1957 (159 births)
Popularity
Marty: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marty from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 13,829 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
Marty 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 Marty during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Martys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 46 states and territories. California, Texas, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Marty, while Maine, Connecticut, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 649 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marty
The name Marty is a diminutive form of the name Martin, which has its origins in the ancient Roman family name Martinus. Martinus is derived from the name of the Roman god Mars, the deity of war and fertility. The name Martin gained popularity during the early Christian era due to the veneration of Saint Martin of Tours, a 4th-century bishop known for his charitable works.
In its diminutive form, Marty first appeared in English-speaking regions during the Middle Ages. It was commonly used as a nickname or shortened version of Martin, reflecting the affectionate nature of diminutive names. The earliest recorded instances of the name Marty can be traced back to the 13th century in various English and Scottish records.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Marty was Marty Llewelyn, a Welsh prince who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. He was a prominent figure during the turbulent period of the Norman conquest of Wales and played a significant role in the struggle for Welsh independence.
In the realm of literature, the name Marty gained recognition through the character of Marty McFly, the protagonist of the iconic Back to the Future film trilogy (1985-1990). Portrayed by actor Michael J. Fox, Marty McFly became a cultural icon and contributed to the popularity of the name in the late 20th century.
Another notable individual with the name Marty was Marty Robbins (1925-1982), an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Renowned for his distinctive voice and crossover appeal between country and pop music, Robbins left an indelible mark on the music industry with hits like "El Paso" and "A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation."
In the world of sports, Marty Marion (1917-2011) was a legendary baseball player and manager. He played as a shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals and won the World Series in 1942 and 1944. After his playing career, he managed the Chicago White Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals, leading the White Sox to the American League pennant in 1959.
Marty Schottenheimer (1943-2023) was a highly respected American football coach who spent over two decades in the National Football League (NFL). He coached teams like the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, and San Diego Chargers, guiding several franchises to playoff appearances and earning a reputation as a disciplinarian and defensive strategist.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Marty
People
Marty + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marty 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
Marty: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marty?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 29,853 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marty 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 11,481 US residents.
Is Marty a common name?
We classify Marty as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 36,211 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marty most popular?
The single biggest year for Marty was 1962, when 1,736 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marty is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Marty a male name?
Yes, 88.7% of people registered as Marty 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.