Jean Martin

(female), (male) Like Jane and Joan, a medieval variant of Old French Je(h)anne. Towards the end of the Middle Ages this form became largely confined to Scotland. In the 20th century it became more widely used in the English-speaking world and enjoyed a period of great popularity, but it is now out of fashion. Among numerous well-known and influential bearers are the British novelists Jean Plaidy (Eleanor Hibbert, 1910–93) and Jean Rhys (Ella Gwendolen Rees Williams, 1894–1979), British actress Jean Simmons (b. 1929), and American-born actress Jean Seberg (1938–79). It is also found as a variant spelling of the masculine name Gene.

English, Scottish, Irish, French, Dutch, German, Czech, Slovak, Spanish (Martín), Italian (Venice), etc.: from a personal name (Latin Martinus, a derivative of Mars, genitive Martis, the Roman god of fertility and war, whose name may derive ultimately from a root mar ‘gleam’). This was borne by a famous 4th-century saint, Martin of Tours, and consequently became extremely popular throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. As a North American surname, this form has absorbed many cognates from other European forms.