Show ContentsMartiné History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The French duchy of Gascogne was the home of the family who first used the name Martiné. The surname was derived from the patron saint, Saint Martinus, a Bishop of Tours and Evangelist of la Gaule who was very popular in the Middle Ages.

Early Origins of the Martiné family

The surname Martiné 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 from ancient times.

Another source claims the name is from St. martin in Normandy. "This family descends from Walter, Lord of St. Martin, who about 980 married a niece of Duchess Gunnora. William his son was father of Roger, Lord of Mortemer, and of Ralph, Sire de Garenne, and of the Sire de St. Martin, from whom came the family of St. Martin in Normandy and England." 1

Abraham Martin was born in France in 1589 and died in Quebec on 8th September 1664. He arrived in New France, along with his wife and daughter, on the boat "Le Sallemande" on 30th August 1620. Abraham received a plot of land that eventually became the location of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, fought between James Wolfe and Louis-Joseph de Montcalm. This land is still known as "Les Plaines d'Abraham", or in English, "The Plains of Abraham". 2

Early History of the Martiné family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Martiné research. Another 486 words (35 lines of text) covering the years 1345, 1370, 1445, 1500, 1550, 1560, 1605, 1634, 1639, 1648, 1673, 1676, 1681, 1689, 1693, 1699, 1706, 1710, 1711, 1717, 1721, 1742, 1743, 1755, 1789, 1800, 1803, 1810, 1818 and 1820 are included under the topic Early Martiné History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Martiné Spelling Variations

Most surnames have experienced slight spelling changes. A son may not chose to spell his name the same way that his father did. Many were errors, many deliberate. During the early development of the French language, a person usually gave his version, phonetically, to a scribe, a priest, or a recorder. Prefixes or suffixes varied. They were optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, there a many spelling variations of the name Martiné, including Martin, Martine, Lamartine, Martinat, Martinaud, Martinault, Martinot, Martineau, Martinet, Martiné, Martinon, Martinesque, Martet, Marthet, Marté, Martaud, Martault, Martot, Marti, Marty, Martinenche, Martiena, Martirena, Martens, Mertens, Saint-Martin and many more.

Early Notables of the Martiné family

Notable amongst the family at this time was François Martin (1634-1706), the first Governor General of Pondicherry, Commissioner of French India (1681-1693), Governor-General of French India (1699-1706); Charles-Amador Martin, (1648-1711), Canadian clergyman, the second Canadian to be ordained a priest; Jean-Baptiste Martin, an officer and...
Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Martiné Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Martiné Ranking

In the United States, the name Martiné is the 9,217th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3 However, in France, the name Martiné is ranked the 4,000th most popular surname with an estimated 1,500 - 2,000 people with that name. 4


United States Martiné migration to the United States +

France was active as a cultural leader in the early 16th century. One particular area in which they lead was the exploration of the New World. The explorers, like Jacques Cartier in 1534, led the way to North America. Champlain, in 1608, made the first of twenty voyages to France to attract settlers and brought the first migrant in 1617. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec, and the French Acadian presence in the Maritimes had reached 500. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The family name Martiné has made many distinguished contributions in France and New France to the world of science, culture, religion, and education. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Martiné were

Martiné Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • James Martine, who arrived in Virginia sometime between 1663 and 1679
  • Deborah Martine, who arrived in South Carolina sometime between 1670 and 1685
  • Anna Martine, who settled in South Carolina sometime between 1670 and 1685
  • Ann Martine, who settled in Maryland in 1671
  • George Martine, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1679 5
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Martiné Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Malcolm Martine, who landed in New York, NY in 1738 5
  • Nickolas Martine, aged 45, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1741 5
  • Yarra Emanuel Martine, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1744 5
  • Charles Martine, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1753 5
  • Justus Martine, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1753 5
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Martiné Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Louis Frederick Martine, who arrived in America in 1816 5
  • Benito Martine, aged 25, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1837 5

West Indies Martiné migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 6
Martiné Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century
  • Alexander Martine, who settled in Jamaica in 1733

Contemporary Notables of the name Martiné (post 1700) +

  • Sally-Anne Martine Stapleford OBE (b. 1945), British silver medalist figure skater
  • Martine Patenaude (b. 1974), Canadian ice dancer, she won the bronze medal at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships in 1994
  • Martine Favret, French actress, known for her role in Vivre ici (1969)
  • Martine Bras (b. 1978), Dutch former road cyclist who competed at the 2012 UCI Road World Championships
  • Martine Billard (b. 1952), French politician, Member of the French National Assembly for Paris I (2002-2012)
  • Martine Coulombe, Canadian politician, elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick in the 2010
  • Martine Bercher (1944-2005), American football defensive back for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks
  • Martine Beswick (b. 1941), English actress and model, best known for her roles in two James Bond films
  • Martine McCutcheon (b. 1976), English singer, television personality and Laurence Olivier Award-winning actress


  1. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  2. Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
  3. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  4. http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
  5. 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)
  6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies


Houseofnames.com on Facebook