2000
#16,859
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,558
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.58
Rare Last name
Martyn
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Martin, meaning "warlike" or "martial".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,206 Americans carry the last name Martyn. That puts it at #14,799 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 155,374 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Martyn 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 Martyn with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.2K
1 in 155,374
Census rank
#14,799
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,924 bearers of the surname Martyn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14799th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Martyn, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.1%. The next largest groups are Black (4.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Martyn
The surname Martyn has its origins in England, tracing back to the 12th century. It is derived from the ancient Latin name Martinus, which itself is rooted in the Roman god Mars, the god of war. The name Martyn likely emerged as a diminutive form of Martin, with the addition of the suffix "-yn" denoting a smaller or affectionate form.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Martyn appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Martinus" in several counties across England. This suggests that the name was already well-established in various parts of the country by the time of the Norman Conquest.
In the 13th century, the surname Martyn appeared in various legal and administrative records, such as the Curia Regis Rolls and the Pipe Rolls. One notable individual from this period was Sir William Martyn, a knight and landholder in Somerset, who lived around 1272.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the Martyn surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Devon, Somerset, and Dorset. The name was associated with several notable families, including the Martyns of Athelhampton in Dorset, who traced their ancestry back to the 13th century.
One of the most prominent individuals with the surname Martyn was Sir Henry Martyn (1512-1566), a Member of Parliament and High Sheriff of Somerset. Another notable figure was John Martyn (c. 1600-1680), an English botanist and author of the influential work "Historia Plantarum Rariorum" (History of Rare Plants).
In the 17th century, the Martyn surname gained further recognition with the exploits of Henry Martyn (1781-1812), an Anglican missionary and scholar who translated the New Testament into several languages spoken in India and Persia.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the Martyn surname continued to be well-represented across various professions and fields. John Martyn (1699-1768) was a renowned botanist and professor at the University of Cambridge, while Thomas Martyn (1735-1825) was a celebrated English entomologist and author of several works on natural history.
The surname Martyn has also been associated with several places and place names, particularly in the counties of Devon and Dorset. For example, the village of Martyn Down in Dorset and the Martyn Farm in Devon likely derived their names from early settlers with the Martyn surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Martyn
Among Census respondents with the surname Martyn, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.1%. The next largest groups are Black (4.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Martyn 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 Martyn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.1% · 1,637
- Black or African American4.6% · 89
- Two or more races4.6% · 88
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 67
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 37
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Martyn
Martyn 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
#17,472
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,613
+55 bearers (+3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.55
Rank movement Down 613 places
2020
#14,799
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,924
+311 bearers (+19.3%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Up 2,673 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,859 | 1,558 | 0.58 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,472 | 1,613 | 0.55 | +55 bearers (+3.5%) | Down 613 places |
| 2020 | #14,799 | 1,924 | 0.64 | +311 bearers (+19.3%) | Up 2,673 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 Martyn 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 | #17,472 | #14,799 | 15.3% |
| Count | 1,613 | 1,924 | 19.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.55 | 0.64 | 17.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Martyn bearers went from 1,613 to 1,924 (+19.3% change). The surname moved up 2,673 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,472 to #14,799.
FAQ
Martyn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Martyn?
Name Census estimates that about 2,206 living Americans carry the surname Martyn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 155,374 residents.
How common is Martyn?
Martyn ranks #14,799 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.64 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,924 people with the surname Martyn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,206), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.64 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Martyn.
Has Martyn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Martyn went from 1,613 recorded bearers to 1,924. That is an increase of 311 (+19.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #17,472 to #14,799.
What does the Census say about the background of Martyn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Martyn, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.1%. The next largest groups are Black (4.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Martyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.1% (1,637 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Martyn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.1%), Black (4.6%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Martyn (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 Martyn mean?
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Martin, meaning "warlike" or "martial". 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 Martyn (0.64 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 are called Martyn?
Want to know how many people are called Martyn? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.