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

Martins, 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 Martins surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Martins in America

Martins is the 3050th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Martins surname appeared 11,751 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Martins.

We can also compare 2010 data for Martins 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 Martins

The surname MARTINS originated in Portugal and Spain during the Middle Ages. It derives from the Latin name Martinus, which was a derivation of the Roman god Mars, the god of war. The name was initially used as a given name before becoming a hereditary surname.

MARTINS was a common surname in medieval Portugal and Spain, especially in regions like Lisbon, Porto, and Galicia. It was often used to denote a relationship to someone named Martin or to indicate a place of origin associated with the name.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname MARTINS can be found in the "Livro Velho de Linhagens" (Old Book of Lineages), a Portuguese genealogical record from the 13th century. This manuscript mentions several individuals with the surname MARTINS, including Martim Martins, a prominent nobleman and military commander during the Reconquista.

In the 14th century, the surname MARTINS appeared in records from the Monastery of Alcobaça, one of the wealthiest and most influential monasteries in Portugal at the time. These records document several MARTINS families who lived in the surrounding areas and had connections to the monastery.

One notable individual with the surname MARTINS was Pedro Martins, a 15th-century Portuguese explorer who accompanied Vasco da Gama on his voyage to India in 1498. He was born in Lagos, Portugal, around 1450 and played a crucial role in establishing trade relations with the East.

In Spain, the MARTINS surname was also prevalent, particularly in regions like Galicia and Asturias. One famous bearer of the name was Juan Martins, a 16th-century Spanish explorer and navigator who accompanied Ferdinand Magellan on his circumnavigation of the globe. He was born in Seville, Spain, around 1480.

Another notable individual with the surname MARTINS was Diogo Martins, a 17th-century Portuguese priest and missionary who traveled to Japan and played a significant role in the spread of Christianity in the region. He was born in Lisbon around 1600 and spent several decades working in Japan until his death in 1661.

During the 18th century, the MARTINS surname gained prominence in Brazil, where many Portuguese immigrants settled. One notable Brazilian with the surname was Joaquim José Martins Torres, a 19th-century politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Brazil from 1848 to 1853.

In the 20th century, the MARTINS surname continued to be widespread in Portugal, Spain, and Brazil, as well as in other parts of the world where Portuguese and Spanish communities had established themselves.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Martins

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

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 Martins 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 Martins 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 Martins was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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