Sanmartin last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Sanmartin

A toponymic surname indicating a person who lived near or originated from a place called San Martín.

Sanmartin, 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 Sanmartin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sanmartin in America

Sanmartin is the 14160th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sanmartin surname appeared 2,121 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Sanmartin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sanmartin 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 14160 17748 -22.49%
Count 2,121 1,456 37.18%
Proportion per 100k 0.72 0.54 28.57%

The history of the last name Sanmartin

The surname SANMARTIN originated in Spain during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the combination of the Spanish words "san" meaning "saint" and "martin" which was a popular name during that time, referencing Saint Martin of Tours. This name likely originated in the northern regions of Spain, such as Galicia and Asturias.

The earliest recorded instances of the name SANMARTIN can be found in medieval Spanish documents and manuscripts from the 12th and 13th centuries. One notable mention is in the "Libro de Repartimiento" from the Kingdom of Valencia, which listed landowners and settlers after the Christian conquest of the region in the 13th century.

In the 14th century, a prominent figure named Pedro SANMARTIN was a military leader and nobleman who served under King Alfonso XI of Castile. He played a crucial role in the Reconquista, the effort to reclaim Spain from Moorish rule.

During the 15th century, the SANMARTIN name gained prominence in the region of Navarre, where several members of the family held important positions in the local government and church. Juan SANMARTIN, born in 1428, was a renowned scholar and theologian who served as the Bishop of León.

In the 16th century, the explorer and navigator Álvaro de SANMARTIN accompanied Ferdinand Magellan on his historic voyage around the world. He served as the chief pilot of the expedition and played a crucial role in navigating the treacherous Strait of Magellan.

Another notable figure with the SANMARTIN surname was Miguel SANMARTIN y Valiente, born in 1786, who was a Spanish military officer and politician. He served as the Minister of War during the reign of King Ferdinand VII and played a pivotal role in the Spanish Liberal Triennium, a constitutional period in the early 19th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sanmartin

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

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 Sanmartin was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 11.27% 239
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.33% 7
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.42% 9
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.47% 10
Hispanic Origin 87.51% 1,856

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 Sanmartin has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 11.27% 12.84% -13.02%
Black 0.33% 1.03% -102.94%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.42% 0.76% -57.63%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.47% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 87.51% 84.48% 3.52%

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Sanmartin, 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!

"Sanmartin last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 4, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/sanmartin-surname-popularity/.

"Sanmartin last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/sanmartin-surname-popularity/. Accessed 4 December, 2024

Sanmartin last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/sanmartin-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.