Find out how popular the last name Martha is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Martha.

Martha, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Martha surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Martha in America

Martha is the 37442nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Martha surname appeared 595 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Martha.

We can also compare 2010 data for Martha to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Martha

The surname Martha originated in England during the Middle Ages as a locational surname. It derived from the Old English words "mær" meaning "waste" and "þorn" meaning "thorn bush", referring to someone who lived near a thorny wasteland or area overgrown with brambles.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the surname Martha can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, where it appears as "de Merthorne". This shows the name was initially rendered with the prefix "de" meaning "from" or "of", indicating a place of origin.

In the 13th century, the surname is documented in the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire from 1273 as "Martha". This suggests the spelling had evolved closer to its modern form by this time.

The Martha surname is also found in medieval records from Essex, where a John Martha is mentioned in tax records from 1327. This points to the name being well-established in various regions of England by the 14th century.

A notable early bearer of the Martha surname was William Martha, a wealthy merchant from Bristol who lived from around 1420 to 1495. He is recorded as owning several properties and ships involved in the trading of wool and cloth.

Another historically significant Martha was Margaret Martha, a nun who lived from 1515 to 1598 at the Benedictine convent of St. Mary's in Winchester. She is known for her illuminated manuscripts and religious writings that survive to this day.

In the 16th century, the Martha surname appeared in Parish records from Buckinghamshire, with the marriage of Thomas Martha and Agnes Smythe recorded in 1583 in the village of Ivinghoe.

A place name associated with the Martha surname is the village of Marthorne in Worcestershire, which likely derived from the same Old English roots as the surname itself. This suggests the name may have originated as a locational identifier for people from this area.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Martha

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Martha.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Martha was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Martha has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Martha was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Martha, please contact us.

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