A history lesson in the great name of Martin

What better way to start the season of Martinmas, with a lecture from the LCM on just how grandiose the name of Martin is currently; has been historically and will continue to be forever. You will all be randomly tested on this throughout the year and will receive 30 lashes from the LCM for each wrong answer.

Origin and History

From the Roman name Martinus, which was derived from Martis, the genitive case of the name of the Roman god MARS (The LCM is the son of MARS). Saint Martin of Tours was a 4th-century bishop who is the patron saint of France. According to legend, he came across a cold beggar in the middle of winter so he ripped his cloak in two and gave half of it to the beggar. He was a favourite saint during the Middle Ages, and his name has become common throughout the Christian world.

An influential bearer of the name was Martin Luther (1483-1546), the theologian who began the Protestant Reformation. The name was also borne by five popes (two of them more commonly known as Marinus). Other more recent bearers include the German philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King (1929-1968), and the American filmmaker Martin Scorsese (1942). Related Names

VARIANTS: Merten (Low German), Mårten (Swedish), Morten (Norwegian), Morten (Danish), Márton (Hungarian), Martti (Finnish)

DIMINUTIVES: Martie, Marty (English), Tine, Tinek (Slovene), Tin (Croatian)

FEMININE FORMS: Martina (English), Martine (French), Martina (German), Martina (Swedish), Martine (Norwegian), Martina (Czech), Martina (Slovak), Martina (Slovene), Martina (Croatian)

OTHER LANGUAGES: Martinus (Ancient Roman), Mattin, Matxin (Basque), Martí (Catalan), Maarten, Marten, Martijn, Martinus, Tijn (Dutch), Máirtín (Irish), Martino, Tino (Italian), Martynas (Lithuanian), Marcin (Polish), Martim, Martinho (Portuguese), Mars (Roman Mythology), Martín (Spanish), Martyn (Ukrainian), Martyn (Welsh)

Popularity

Using the attached link, you can do a statistical analysis of the popularity of the name Martin and its diminutives over the years:

http://www.behindthename.com/name/martin/top/england-wales

The attached chart for the UK is below.

Popularity for Martin in England and Wales Key highlights are the rise of the Martin in Spain and the sudden rise and fall in a number of countries such as the Czech Repulic.

Martin name days

The following countries celebrate the name of Martin by actually calling one day of the year “Martin” and these are as follows (get them in your diary now):

Name days for Martin

Bulgaria: March 1 Czech Republic: November 11 Germany: November 11 Estonia: November 10 France: November 11 Croatia: April 13 Croatia: November 3 Croatia: November 11 Slovakia: November 11 Sweden: November 10

'''Ratings for the name Martin'''

The LCM surveyed 410 people as to the strength and weaknesses of the name Martin, and the results are attached:

http://www.behindthename.com/name/martin/rating

Namesakes

Finally, what better way to illustrate the strength of our name, by sharing a list of influential Martins throughout history. Happy Martinmas everyone:

'''American Presidents:1''' president

Martin Van Buren 1837-1841

'''Bishops of Rome and the Popes:3''' popes

Martin I 649-653 Martin IV 1281-1285 Martin V 1417-1431

'''Canadian Prime Ministers:1''' prime minister

Brian Mulroney (a.k.a. Martin) 1984-1993

'''Fictional Characters from Movies:2''' characters

Martin Riggs 1987 Lethal Weapon

Martin Blank 1997 Grosse Pointe Blank

'''German Chancellors:1''' chancellor

Bernhard von Bülow (a.k.a. Martin) 1900-1909

Hall-of-Famers:1 baseball, 1 basketball

(baseball) Martín Dihigo 1977 (basketball) C. M. Newton (a.k.a. Martin) 2000

'''Nobel Prize Winners:3''' chemistry, 3 medicine, 2 physics, 1 peace

(chemistry) Richard Willstätter (a.k.a. Martin) 1915 (peace) Martin Luther King Jr. 1964 (physics) Martin Ryle 1974 (medicine) Howard Martin Temin 1975 (medicine) Martin Rodbell 1994 (physics) Martin Lewis Perl 1995 (medicine) Martin Evans 2007 (chemistry) Martin Chalfie 2008 (chemistry) Martin Karplus 2013

'''Notable Activists:1''' activist

Martin Luther King Jr. 1929-1968

'''Notable Actors and Actresses:9''' actors, 1 actor/comedian

Martin Balsam 1919-1996 Martin Landau 1928- Martin Sheen 1940- Martin Mull 1943- Martin Shaw 1945- Martin Short 1950- Martin Turner 1950- Martin Lawrence 1965- Martin Freeman 1971- Martin Henderson 1974-

'''Notable Artists:1''' conceptual artist

Martin Kippenberger 1953-1997

'''Notable Athletes:1''' baseball, 1 soccer, 1 tennis

(baseball) Martín Dihigo 1906-1971 (tennis) Martin Verkerk 1978- (soccer) Miiko Albornoz (a.k.a. Martín) 1990-

'''Notable Filmmakers:1''' director

Martin Scorsese 1942-

'''Notable Philosophers and Thinkers:1 philosopher, 1''' theologian

Martin Luther 1483-1546 Martin Heidegger 1889-1976

'''Olympic Medalists:3''' gold, 2 silver/bronze, 1 gold/bronze, 1 silver, 1 silver/gold

(gold/bronze) Martin Hollstein ''2008; 2012 canoe sprint'' (silver/bronze) Martin Johnsrud Sundby 2010; 2014 ''cross-country skiing'' (silver/bronze) Benjamin Karl (a.k.a. Martin) 2010; 2014 snowboarding

(silver/gold) Martin Fourcade 2010; 2014 biathlon (gold) Martin Sauer 2012 rowing (gold) Martin Häner 2012 field hockey (silver) Martin Sinković 2012 rowing (gold) Martin St. Louis 2014 ice hockey

'''Oscar Award Winners:2''' actors, 1 director

(actor) Martin Balsam 1965 A Thousand Clowns (actor) Martin Landau 1994 Ed Wood (director) Martin Scorsese 2006 The Departed

'''Other Leaders:2''' prime ministers

Prime Minister Trygve Bratteli (a.k.a. Martin) 1971-1972; 1973-1976 Norway Prime Minister Martin Raguž 2000-2001 Bosnia and Herzegovina

'''Pulitzer Award Winners:1''' winner

Martin Flavin 1944 Journey in the Dark

Saints:4 saints, 2 blessed

Saint Martin of Tours 316-397 Saint Martin I ?-655 Saint Martín de Porres 1579-1639 Saint Martín Loynaz of the Ascension ?-1597 Blessed Martín Gómez ?-1627 Blessed Martin Lumbreras ?-1632

'''Spanish Kings and Queens:1''' king

King Martín the Kind (Aragon) 1396-1410

'''Title Characters:3''' songs, 1 book, 1 musical

(book) Martin Chuzzlewit 1844 ''Martin Chuzzlewit'' (song) Martin 1968 Abraham, Martin and John (musical) Martin Guerre 1997 Martin Guerre (song) Martin Eden 2003 Martin Eden (song) Martin 2010 Martin