This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Martin'; v. Martel. This once popular font-name, coming as it did in the hereditary surname period, has swelled our 19th century directories enormously.

Martin de Littlebyr, Close Rolls, 42 Henry III.

William fil. Martin, Cambridgeshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Mariota fil. Martini, Huntingdonshire, ibid.

Martin le Cordwaner, Close Rolls, 9 Edward II.

Johannes Martynson, 1379: Poll Tax of Howdenshire.

It is interesting to notice that Martinson still lives, although it does not now appear in the London Directory.

1797. Married — Thomas Martinson and Sarah Burrows: St. George, Hanover Square.

This surname is perhaps from three sources: (1) from the personal name; (2) a shortened form of St. Martin which see, the name of a once great family in East Lothian; and (3) possibly a curtailed form of Macmarttn, which see. Martin, clerk to the chancellor of William the Lion, appears in Angus, c. 1189-99 (RAA., 1, 80), and Martin, medicus Willelmi regis, is mentioned within the same period (ibid., I, 8). Walter Martyn was burgess of Edinbergh, 1380 (Egidii, p. 23), and Laurence Martyn, a native of Jedeworth, had letters of denisation in England, 1463 (Bain, IV, 1335). Robert Martyne was vicar of Garwok, 1497 (RAA., II, 377), Florentyne Martyn of Gybles-toune was juror on assize at Cupar, 1520 (SCHF., p. 187), and there was an old family of the name in St. Andrews in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries (Macfarlane, II, p. 183-198), of which was George Martine (163-1712), secretary to Arch Dishop Sharp. The Martins of Marshadder are descended from Martin, eldest son of Aonghas na Gaoithe (Clan Donald, III, p. 567). Abraham Martin "dit l'Ecossais" (d. 1664), was the first king's pilot on the St. Lawrence river, Canada; the Plains of Abraham, the scene of the battle in 1759, are named from the grant of the land which he received in 1617. Mairtein and Martein 1585, Mairtene 1646, Mairtin 1650, Mairton 1663, Marttine 1660, Mertaune and Mertoune 1607, Merteine 1592, Mertene 1604, Mertine 1509, Mertn 1687, Mertyne 1537, Mirtine 1688.

(Anglo-French-Latin) Martian [Middle English Old French Martin, Latin Martin-us; Latin Mars, Martis, the god of war] (English) belonging to Martin, for Marton, q.v.

This is one of the most numerous surnames in Ireland, as it is also in England and Scotland.

One family of Martins are included in the fourteen “Tribes of Galway", having come to Ireland at the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion. The name is also used as an abbreviation of Gilmartin, q.v. IF 222

“Little Mars” in Medieval Latin (Martinus).

(French, English) Descendant of Martinus (belonging to Mars, the god of war).

From the personal name, rendered illustrious by St. Martin, the apostol of the Gauls. Many places in Normandy were dedicated to him, and from one of these sprang the great family who came hither at the Conquest under the name of De Sancto Martino. Both as a personal designation, and a surname, it is very widely spread in all the countries of western Europe. At Paris it is amongst the very commonest of all family names, answering to our own Smith for frequency. Its derivatives are Martins and Martinson. Martineau is well naturalized here, and Martinelli, Martinez, Martini, and other foreign forms are becoming so. The name of the Saint was perhaps derived from the Latin martius, warlike.

This name may be derived from the Latin martius, warlike, from Mars, the God of War. In the Gaelic, mor is great, and duin, a man. Morduin, a chief, a warrior.

Originally MacGiolla Martin, 'the Son of Martin's Servant'.

St. Martin of Tours is said to have been St. Patrick's uncle. He died a.d. 448.

Diel, Guido, John, Ralph, Roger, Tustin, William Martin, Normandy, 1198 (Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae); Nigel, William M. Engl. c. 1198 (Rotuli Curiae Regis); Robert, William, Richard, Ansketil, Peter, Roger, Ralph Martin, Normandy, 1180-95; 2. from St. Martin, Normandy. Alured, Roger, Hervey de St. M., Normandy, 1180-95 (Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae). 3. A patronymic from Martin de Umfraville, Sire de Tours, Normandy, conqueror of Carneys, Wales, t. William Rufus, whose descendants bore the name of Fitz-Martin or Martin, and were barons by writ.

In contrast to the areal clustering of most surnames considered in this atlas, that of Martin shows a widely dispersed distribution in Louisiana and adjacent states.

Martin is a multi-national family name. Today it is the most frequent surname in France,1* but it is also common in England, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, northern Italy, and of course in the United States.

Thus its scattered distribution in Louisiana reflects the settlement of the northern and central parts of the state by Martins of mainly Anglo-Saxon and German origins, and of the southern areas chiefly by those with French and Spanish roots. Those of the latter origins arrived in Louisiana during the colonial period, whereas many of the Anglo-Saxons and Germans came during the early American era. As seen in the map above, by 1850 the dispersed pattern of Martin families in the state was well advanced, including a preponderance in New Orleans, where the name probably represented many nationalities.

Given the frequency of the surname in France, it is not surprising that several Martins came to Louisiana (mainly New Orleans) in the early years of the colony; little is known, however, of their descendants.

Much more is known about the several Acadian refugees named Martin who arrived in Louisiana probably in 1765 with the group of exiles via St. Domingue, West Indies.

Among them were six brothers, sons of Ambroise Martin of Beaubassin, Acadia, and two other brothers, sons of Paul Martin, also of Beaubassin, brother of Ambroise.

All were descendants of Barnabé Martin, who became established in Acadia during the 1660s.

Five of Ambroise's sons settled along the Mississippi River in St.

James Parish: Ambroise, Jr. (m. 1759 Madeleine Gaudin), Joseph (m. ca. 1760 Marguerite Pitre), Jean-Baptiste (m. 1765 Marie Bourg), François (m. 1781 Cécile Degirre), and Paul (m. 1779 Françoise Housser).

Descendants of most of these Martins may have remained along the river for much of the nineteenth century. The sixth son of Ambroise, Sr., Claude (m. ca. 1770 Marie Babin), in 1766 left St. James to live in the Attakapas, where he began a long line of Martins in the Teche country.

The two sons of Paul Martin of Beaubassin, Pierre and Joseph, also settled in St. James, but by 1766 Joseph (m. ca. 1770 Élizabeth Thibodeaux) and his widowed mother, Marguerite Cyr, had joined his cousin Claude in the Attakapas; Joseph left no male heirs.

Both Claude and Joseph Martin located along Bayou Vermilion in the district then called "La Manque," later termed "Grande Prairie," within present Lafayette Parish.

Claude's four sons carried on the Acadian Martin line in that area, and during the nineteenth century some of their descendants became highly respected members of the Teche country community. One of Claude's sons, André (m. 1795 Catherine Sonnier), besides his holdings on the Vermilion, owned land on the Mermentau River within the Calcasieu frontier, where he ran large herds of cattle.

His son, André, Jr. (m. 1818 Marie Dugas), was likewise a large landholder, in 1860 operating a 1400-acre sugar plantation on Bayou Vermilion near Lafayette with 85 slaves.

Martins of Acadian descent also settled along Bayou Lafourche and in Terrebonne Parish. Migrating from St.

James Parish in the early 1810s, two sons of refugees Joseph Martin and Marguerite Pitre-Joseph, Jr. (m.

1787 Marie Charpantier) and Michel (m. 1793 Marguerite Grimbach)-made homes near Thibodeauxville.

Three of Joseph, Jr.'s sons-Louis, Justin, and Saintville-and most of their descendants, occupied farms near Raceland.

Three of Michel's five sons — Dantin, Jacques, and Joachim-and their families migrated into Terrebonne Parish (Montegut and Chacahoula), whereas his two other sons, Michel, Jr and François-remained near Thibodeauxville and nearby Chacbay.

In both the Teche and Lafourche areas many non-Acadian Martin families, some French, others Anglo-Saxon, settled during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. However, lack of adequate records precludes the tracing of their descendants with any accuracy.

Martins of Spanish origin in Louisiana probably derive mainly from Canary Islanders (Isleños) who in 1779 were sent by the Spanish government to help settle the colony.

In that year twelve adult men named Martín (eight had families, four were single) arrived in New Orleans with other Isleños, most of whom were settled along Bayou Terre-aux-Boeufs, St. Bernard Parish.

Some of the 1779 colonists, however, were sent to newly founded Galveztown in present Ascension Parish, as was Matías Martín and wife María Santos.

Through intermarriage the Martins of French, Spanish, and Anglo origin in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas today must be inexorably mixed.

Available records offer scant information on settlement and lineage of Martin families in northern and central Louisiana, most of whom were probably of Anglo-Saxon origin. During the late 1790s and early 1800s several planters named Martin were established in Rapides Parish, especially along Bayou Rapides (e.g., Gabriel Martin), Bayou Robert (e.g., Abraham Martin), Bayou Boeuf (e.g., John M. Martin with 37 slaves), and on Red River some 18 miles below Alexandria a Peter Boyd Martin had settled.

In the Natchitoches area various Martins, possibly of French descent, were present during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, but there exist no firm data on their provenience or descendants

Martin: Sire of Tour, near Bayeux. Came over with the Bastard in 1066, and conquered the territory of Kemys in Pembrokeshire, which was erected into a palatine barony.

Martin. —Distributed over the whole of England and possessing several homes, the two principal being in the south - west, in Cornwall, and in the south - east, in Sussex and Kent. Less important centres are in Worcestershire and Staffordshire, where the Martins of the midlands mainly reside, and in Northumberland, which is the home of the north country Martins, who also extend across the border into the southern half of Scotland.

The surname Martin derives from the popular first name. The first name Martin has ancient origins which start at the same source as the first name Mark. Both these first names derive from the Latin name Martius, which means ‘of Mars’. Mars was a pagan god of war, and thus Martius was a common name for a warrior. Strictly speaking, Martin is a diminutive of Martius.

Martin owes its popularity as a Christian name to the fourth-century Saint Martin, who was originally a soldier but finally ended up as Bishop of Tours in France. His best- known act was tearing his cloak in two and giving one half to a beggar.

Occasionally, the surname Martin derives from a place name. There are in fact villages called Martin or Marten in six English counties; and from this source the surname would mean ‘a person from Martin (or Marten)’. The place name means ‘a place near a mere or lake’.

The most widespread variations on Martin are Marten, Martyn and Martell. The last of these is a double diminutive (though occasionally it is an occupational name coming from the same Old French word, which means a hammer). The name Martinsmith, which looks occupational, is actually a corruption of the medieval Martinsmough, ‘Martin’s brother- in-law’. The same development is seen in Hudsmith (Hud’s-i.e. Hugh’s-brother-in-law), while the original form remains in Watmough, ‘Walter’s brother-in-law’, and Hitchmough, ‘Richard’s brother-in-law’. Martinson or Martenson, as well as Martins or Martens, are also derivatives of Martin. In other languages the name appears as Martine, Martines, Martinez, Martineau, Martinelli, Martini, Martino and Martinuzzi.

The first name Martin appears in its Latinised form Martius in the Domesday Book records for 1066. However, the surname does not appear until a century later, the first mention being in the Red Book of the Exchequer for Cambridgeshire. Here in 1166 Walter and Helewis Martin are listed.

Martin brothers have on several occasions made major names for themselves in the decorative arts. In the eighteenth century Robert, Julien, Guilhaume and Étienne-Simon Martin invented and perfected the application of a special lacquer for furniture and furnishings. Known as vernis-Martin, this was extensively used at Versailles.

Admiral Sir William F. Martin was renowned in the Royal Navy for having his men arrested (‘pinched’) for even the slightest offence. Ever since, any Martin joining the Navy picks up the nickname ‘Pincher’.

Simon Manfritie de Borton (1210—85) ascended the papal throne in 1281 calling himself Martin IV, under the mistaken assumption that there had already been Popes Martin II and III. His entire short reign was marred by similar ineptitudes, and he was driven from Rome by a popular uprising in 1285.

Glen Luther Martin (1886—1955) was a pioneer aviator and aircraft manufacturer. He made the first flight over the ocean, a short hop from Newport Beach to Santa Catalina Island. Later he formed a large aeroplane manufacturing company, which was responsible for producing such epoch- making craft as the B-26 bomber and the PBM Marina flying boat. Both of these played a major part in the World War II bombing of Germany.

Martins are members of the swallow family. The mud martin is so named because it makes its nest of sticks, straw and mud. Martens are weasel-like carnivores found in Canada, the northern US, Europe and the Far East. The soft, thick fur of these creatures is much valued.

In all, 8 towns in the United Kingdom are Martin-related. There are 17 in the United States including 5 Martins and 5 Martinsburgs. South Africa has a Martindale while New Zealand has a Martinborough. Because of the Saint Martin connections, related town and geographic names are widespread and notably prevalent in Latin-language areas.

With about 185,000 namesakes Martin is the 29th most popular surname in England and Wales. There are over 17.000 Martins in Scotland where it is 36th in popularity. In Ireland it is estimated that with about 15,000, Martin is the 38th most popular surname. The name is notably popular in and around Glasgow where an estimated one in about 269 families bears it. In descending numerical order Edinburgh, Nottingham and Leicester are other Martin strongholds. Around the world Martins are most popular in Canberra (one in 377 families), Ottawa (one in 417) and Sydney (one in 432). The United States counts Martins, Martinsons and Martinez’s together-an estimated total of just over 1.179.000 makes this group their 8th most popular surname.