Martell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France

The name Martel first came from the French word "martelage" which means "hammering" and later the word "martel" was used for a "weapon hammer". 1

Early Origins of the Martell family

The surname Martell was first found in Gascony (French: Gascogne), an area of southwest France bordering Spain, that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution, where the family has held a family seat since ancient times. Charles Martel (c. 688-741) was a Frankish ruler best known for his victory at the Battle of Tours in 732, which halted the European invasion by the Moors. He was given the nickname Martel, "the Hammer", for his approach to battle. At this early date this was not a hereditary surname. He is also said to be the grandfather of Charlemagne.

By the 15th century the family was well established in Gascogne and several members held distinctive positions in society and were rewarded by their peers with lands, titles, and letters patent confirming their nobility.

Throughout the centuries the family prospered and expanded to various regions where members of the family adapted to the cultural and linguistic changes in these new areas and they became prominent citizens in their respective communities. The name Martel was also seen in Normandy with many distinguished families, cited in 1066 and 1133. 2

Honore Martel, son of Jean and Marie (née Duchesne), travelled to Canada from Paris, France around 1667. He married Marguerite La Mirault, daughter of François and Jeanne (née Clause), at the church of Quebec on 26th November 1668. They settled together at Dombour, Neuville, Quebec. 3

Early History of the Martell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Martell research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1271, 1290, 1295, 1570, 1600, 1654, 1708, 1789, 1859 and 1938 are included under the topic Early Martell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Martell Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Martel, Martelle, Martelles, Martal, Martales, Martell, Mertel, Mertelle, Mertalle and many more.

Early Notables of the Martell family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Charles Martel d'Anjou (1271-1295), also known as Charles I Martel; he was the son of king Charles II of Naples and Maria of Hungary...
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Martell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Martell Ranking

In the United States, the name Martell is the 3,048^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 4

Martell migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Martell Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

K. Martell, aged 42, settled in Boston in 1823
K. Martell who settled in Boston in 1823
Jom Martell, aged 25, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1839 5
Philipp Martell, aged 6, who landed in New York, NY in 1894 5
Rosina Martell, aged 8, who arrived in New York, NY in 1894 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Martell migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Martell Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Stephen Martell, Welsh convict from Pembroke, who was transported aboard the "Adamant" on March 16, 1821, settling in New South Wales, Australia 6
Richard Martell, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Caspar" in 1849 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Martell (post 1700) +

Tony Martell (1926-2016), American music industry senior executive and philanthropist
Raúl Sánchez Díaz Martell (1915-2011), American Governor of Baja California from 1965 to 1971
Herman Martell, former American football player in the National Football League
Linda Martell (b. 1941), American rhythm and blues and country music singer
Kayla Martell (b. 1989), American beauty queen
Tony Martell, veteran American music industry senior executive
Vince Martell (b. 1945), American is best known as the lead guitarist for Vanilla Fudge
Kay Martell, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1948 8
Charles J. Martell, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Massachusetts, 1912 8
Charles Martell, American politician, Representative from Michigan 17th District, 1986 8
... (Another 6 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Dionne, N.-E., Origine Des Familles Canadiennes-Français. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1969. Print.
Hozier, Charles D, and Antoine Bachelin-Delforenne. État présent De La Noblesse française (1883-1887): Contenant Le Distionnaire De La Noblesse Contemporaine Et Larmorial général De France, Dapres Les Manuscrits De Ch. D Hozier. Librairie Des Bibliophiles, 1884. Print.
Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Adamant voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1821 with 144 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/adamant/1821
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The CASPAR 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Caspar.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html