Martyn
From the Latin name Martinus, meaning "consecrated to Mars", the Roman god of war.
Name Census estimates that about 464 living Americans carry the first name Martyn. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Martyn today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Martyn births was 1956 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Martyn. 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
464
~ 1 in 738,695 Americans
Peak year
1956
17 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,467
Tracked since 1917
Popularity
Martyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Martyn from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 123 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
Martyn 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 Martyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Martyn
The name Martyn is derived from the ancient Roman name Martinus, which is a derivative of the name of the Roman god Mars. Mars was the god of war and an agricultural guardian in Roman mythology. The name Martinus was later adopted by early Christians as a given name.
In Latin, the name Martinus means "of Mars" or "devoted to Mars." It was a relatively popular name among early Christians, as they often gave their children names related to Roman gods and mythology. The name Martyn is an anglicized variant of Martinus, which emerged in medieval England.
One of the earliest and most famous bearers of the name Martyn was Saint Martin of Tours, a 4th-century bishop and monastery founder who was born in modern-day Hungary around 316 AD. He is known for his acts of charity and for sharing his cloak with a beggar, which led to his depiction in art with a cloak and sword.
Another notable Martyn was Martin of Braga, a 6th-century bishop and theologian who was born in modern-day Portugal around 520 AD. He is credited with establishing Christianity in the region and writing several influential theological works.
In the 12th century, Martin de Tours was a French monk and philosopher who was born around 1130 AD. He was a prominent figure in the scholastic movement and wrote extensively on logic and philosophy.
During the Renaissance period, Martin Luther (1483-1546) was a German monk and theologian who initiated the Protestant Reformation. He is famous for his 95 Theses, which challenged certain practices of the Catholic Church.
In the 20th century, Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) was an American Baptist minister and civil rights activist who played a pivotal role in the African-American civil rights movement. He is best known for his "I Have a Dream" speech and for promoting non-violent civil disobedience.
People
Martyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Martyn 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
Martyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Martyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 464 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Martyn 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 738,695 US residents.
Is Martyn a common name?
We classify Martyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 566 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Martyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Martyn was 1956, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Martyn is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Martyn a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Martyn 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.