NORMAN MARTIN

Of Germanic origin, from nord ‘north’ + man ‘man’, i.e. ‘Norseman’. This name was in use in England before the Conquest, and was reinforced by its use among the Norman invaders themselves. The Normans were the inhabitants of Normandy in northern France, whose name is a reference to the Vikings who took control of the region in the 9th century. In the 11th and 12th centuries they achieved remarkable conquests, including not only Britain but also Sicily, southern Italy, and Antioch. In the Scottish Highlands it is used as the Anglicized equivalent of Tormod.

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.