Martínez is the most common surname in the Spanish regions of Navarre, La Rioja, Cuenca and Murcia.

Martínez comes from the personal name "Martin", itself derived from the Latin Martinus, whose root is Mars, the name of the Roman god of fertility and war.

Likewise, due to emigration throughout Europe, Martínez is relatively common in countries neighboring or near Spain, such as: Andorra, Portugal, France, Switzerland and Italy.

In the United States, according to the 1990 Census, "Martinez" ranked nineteenth among all surnames reported, accounting for 0.23% of the population.

As of 2014, 38.8% of all known bearers of the surname Martínez were residents of Mexico (frequency 1:37), 9.9% of Spain (1:54), 9.2% of the United States (1:449), 7.9% of Colombia (1:69), 4.5% of Venezuela (1:77), 4.4% of Argentina (1:112), 2.7% of Cuba (1:49), 2.7% of Honduras (1:38), 2.4% of Guatemala (1:77), 2.2% of El Salvador (1:33), 2.0% of the Dominican Republic (1:61), 1.9% of Paraguay (1:43), 1.7% of Nicaragua (1:40), 1.6% of the Philippines (1:706), 1.4% of Chile (1:142) and 1.3% of Peru (1:275).