2000
#3,602
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,062
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.36
Uncommon Last name
Martins
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Martin, referring to someone who was the son of Martin.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 14,980 Americans carry the last name Martins. That puts it at #2,696 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.37 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 22,881 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Martins 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 Martins with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
15K
1 in 22,881
Census rank
#2,696
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,063 bearers of the surname Martins in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.37 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2696th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Martins, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.8%. The next largest groups are Black (11.0%) and Hispanic (7.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Martins
Among Census respondents with the surname Martins, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.8%. The next largest groups are Black (11.0%) and Hispanic (7.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Martins 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 Martins surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.8% · 9,898
- Black or African American11.0% · 1,437
- Hispanic or Latino7.1% · 931
- Two or more races3.3% · 435
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 300
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 62
Timeline
Historical Census data for Martins
Martins 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
#3,050
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,751
+2,689 bearers (+29.7%)
Per 100,000 3.98
Rank movement Up 552 places
2020
#2,696
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,063
+1,312 bearers (+11.2%)
Per 100,000 4.37
Rank movement Up 354 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,602 | 9,062 | 3.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,050 | 11,751 | 3.98 | +2,689 bearers (+29.7%) | Up 552 places |
| 2020 | #2,696 | 13,063 | 4.37 | +1,312 bearers (+11.2%) | Up 354 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 Martins 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 | #3,050 | #2,696 | 11.6% |
| Count | 11,751 | 13,063 | 11.2% |
| Per 100K | 3.98 | 4.37 | 9.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Martins bearers went from 11,751 to 13,063 (+11.2% change). The surname moved up 354 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,050 to #2,696.
FAQ
Martins surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Martins?
Name Census estimates that about 14,980 living Americans carry the surname Martins. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 22,881 residents.
How common is Martins?
Martins ranks #2,696 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.37 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,063 people with the surname Martins. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (14,980), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.37 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.37 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Martins.
Has Martins become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Martins went from 11,751 recorded bearers to 13,063. That is an increase of 1,312 (+11.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #3,050 to #2,696.
What does the Census say about the background of Martins?
Among Census respondents with the surname Martins, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.8%. The next largest groups are Black (11.0%) and Hispanic (7.1%). 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 Martins in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.8% (9,898 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Martins appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.8%), Black (11.0%), Hispanic (7.1%). 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 Martins (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 Martins mean?
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Martin, referring to someone who was the son of Martin. 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 Martins (4.37 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 surname Martins?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.