In Scotland, Martin or McMartin is a common surname of Scottish Gaelic origin.

It has remained a popular given name in Christian times, in honor of Saint Martin of Tours.

Martin was the sixteenth most frequently reported surname in the 1990 United States Census, accounting for 0.27% of the population.

[citation needed] Before the Normans arrived in the 11th century, "Martin" was rare in England.

An Anglo-Norman knight named Robert Fitz Martin, born in the late 11th century, settled in England's West Country, on lands inherited from a grandfather, and later participated in the invasions of Wales, where he was awarded the barony of Cemaes, located between Fishguard and Cardigan.

Robert fitz Martin established the caput of his barony at Nanhyfer or Nevern.

Onomastics have tried to find other reasons for Martin's popularity, by examining, for example, the repartition of place names, but this explanation also lacks empirical support.

However, this list hides strong regional differences in France and the increasing number of foreign names among the French citizens.

In Italy, Martin (pronounced [marˈtiŋ]) is a rather common surname in Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and Piedmont.

Also it is seen in derivative surnames following Scandinavian naming tradition, such as Martinsen (in Norway and Denmark) and Martinsson (in Sweden).

One of the names taken up by these Jewish conversos (originally known in Spain as Marranos, but preferred term is 'anusim' which is Hebrew for "forced") was "Martí" (also spelt "Marty").

[11] As of 2014, 32.6% of all known bearers of the surname Martin were residents of the United States (frequency 1:424), 19.2% of Spain (1:93), 12.0% of France (1:211), 4.7% of England (1:449), 3.5% of Canada (1:401), 2.9% of Germany (1:1,054), 2.3% of Argentina (1:719), 2.2% of the Philippines (1:1,731), 2.2% of Mexico (1:2,179), 2.1% of Tanzania (1:955), 2.0% of Australia (1:453), 1.5% of Cuba (1:303) and 1.3% of South Africa (1:1,617).