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

MARTÍNEZ, 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 MARTÍNEZ surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of MARTÍNEZ in America

MARTÍNEZ is the 61585th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The MARTÍNEZ surname appeared 326 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 MARTÍNEZ.

We can also compare 2010 data for MARTÍNEZ 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 MARTÍNEZ

The surname MARTNEZ has its origins in Spain and can be traced back to the medieval period. It is a patronymic name, derived from the personal name Martín, which was the Spanish form of the Latin name Martinus. Martinus was derived from the name of the Roman god Mars, who was the god of war.

The name MARTNEZ is believed to have originated in the northern regions of Spain, particularly in the provinces of Cantabria, Asturias, and Castile. It was likely formed by adding the patronymic suffix "-ez" to the name Martín, indicating "son of Martín."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name MARTNEZ can be found in the Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla, a medieval manuscript dating back to the 12th century, which mentions individuals with the surname MARTNEZ in the region of La Rioja.

During the Reconquista, the period of Christian conquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors, the MARTNEZ name gained prominence as many individuals bearing this surname participated in the military campaigns. One notable figure was Pedro Martínez de Catalayud (c. 1350-1410), a Spanish military leader who fought against the Moors in the Kingdom of Aragon.

In the 15th century, the MARTNEZ surname appeared in various historical records, such as the Libro de la Casa de los Martínez de Leyva, which documented the lineage of the Martínez de Leyva family from the town of Leyva in Castile.

As the Spanish Empire expanded, the MARTNEZ name spread to the Americas, particularly to Mexico and other Spanish colonies. One famous individual with this surname was Hernando Martínez de Pedrosa (c. 1500-1565), a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Peru alongside Francisco Pizarro.

Another notable figure was Martín Martínez de Fresneda (c. 1560-1614), a Spanish Franciscan friar who served as a missionary in New Spain (present-day Mexico) and contributed to the evangelization of indigenous populations.

In the 17th century, Diego Martínez de Carmona (c. 1600-1670) was a Spanish painter known for his religious works, particularly his depictions of the Virgin Mary.

During the 18th century, Pedro Martínez de Arizala (c. 1700-1780) was a Spanish military engineer who oversaw the construction of several fortifications in the Spanish colonies, including the San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico.

In the 19th century, Martín Martínez de Navarrete (1765-1844) was a Spanish historian and naval officer who wrote extensively about the early Spanish explorers and the maritime history of Spain.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name MARTÍNEZ

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!