2000
#3,908
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,362
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.10
Rare Last name
Martel
A French occupational surname referring to a hammer-wielding worker or smith.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,639 Americans carry the last name Martel. That puts it at #4,094 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 35,559 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Martel surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Martel with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.6K
1 in 35,559
Census rank
#4,094
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,406 bearers of the surname Martel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4094th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Martel, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Martel
The surname Martel originated in France, emerging during the medieval period. It derives from the French word "martel," meaning "hammer." This name was likely an occupational surname initially, referring to a person who worked as a hammerer or blacksmith.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was Charles Martel, a Frankish military leader who lived from 686 to 741 AD. He earned the epithet "Martel" (the Hammer) for his decisive victory over the Moors at the Battle of Tours in 732 AD, which halted the Muslim invasion of Western Europe.
The Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landholders in England compiled in 1086, does not contain any references to the surname Martel. However, the name is found in various historical records from France, such as the Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres, which dates back to the 12th century.
In the 13th century, Guillaume Martel was a prominent French nobleman and crusader who participated in the Seventh Crusade (1248-1254). Another notable figure was Jean Martel, a 14th-century French composer and poet who served at the court of King Charles V.
The name Martel has also been associated with several place names in France, such as Martel-le-Ville and Martel-Avoine, which may have influenced the surname's development in certain regions.
Other historical figures bearing the surname Martel include:
1. André Martel (1629-1673), a French painter and engraver known for his portraits and religious works.
2. François Martel (1761-1840), a French politician and writer who served as a deputy during the French Revolution.
3. Marie-Josèphe Martel (1782-1865), a French-Canadian businesswoman and entrepreneur who established a successful trading company in Quebec.
4. Frédéric Martel (born 1967), a French writer and sociologist known for his work on LGBT issues and cultural studies.
5. Andrew Martel (1909-1992), an American politician who served as the 57th Governor of Florida from 1965 to 1967.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Martel
Among Census respondents with the surname Martel, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Martel bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Martel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.1% · 6,146
- Hispanic or Latino20.2% · 1,700
- Two or more races3.2% · 266
- Black or African American1.7% · 140
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 88
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 66
Timeline
Historical Census data for Martel
Martel appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#3,925
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,056
+694 bearers (+8.3%)
Per 100,000 3.07
Rank movement Down 17 places
2020
#4,094
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,406
-650 bearers (-7.2%)
Per 100,000 2.81
Rank movement Down 169 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,908 | 8,362 | 3.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,925 | 9,056 | 3.07 | +694 bearers (+8.3%) | Down 17 places |
| 2020 | #4,094 | 8,406 | 2.81 | -650 bearers (-7.2%) | Down 169 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Martel surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #3,925 | #4,094 | -4.3% |
| Count | 9,056 | 8,406 | -7.2% |
| Per 100K | 3.07 | 2.81 | -8.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Martel bearers went from 9,056 to 8,406 (-7.2% change). The surname moved down 169 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,925 to #4,094.
FAQ
Martel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Martel?
Name Census estimates that about 9,639 living Americans carry the surname Martel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 35,559 residents.
How common is Martel?
Martel ranks #4,094 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.81 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,406 people with the surname Martel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,639), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.81 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Martel.
Has Martel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Martel went from 9,056 recorded bearers to 8,406. That is a decrease of 650 (-7.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,925 to #4,094.
What does the Census say about the background of Martel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Martel, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (20.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Martel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.1% (6,146 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Martel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.1%), Hispanic (20.2%), Two or More Races (3.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Martel (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Martel mean?
A French occupational surname referring to a hammer-wielding worker or smith. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Martel (2.81 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Martel?
Find out how many people have the last name Martel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.