The Martinson surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,048 people carried this name — #4,412 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 36,600 people counted. That is up 5% from 7,639 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Martinson surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a baptismal name, from a given name: ‘the son of Martin’.

An early record he cites: Johannes Martynson, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

His entry covers Martin, Martins and Martinson.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 517 · public domain.

In Poland’s population register

32 people named Martinson have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 42 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 1 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Silesian.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Silesian 32

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In the Nordic population registers

181 people named Martinson is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 181

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In print

Martinson in American newspapers,
1914–1917.

Newspaper page from The Washington Herald carrying the name Martinson
The Washington Herald 1914-05-17
Newspaper page from Turner County Herald carrying the name Martinson
Turner County Herald 1915-04-08
Newspaper page from The Brookings Register carrying the name Martinson
The Brookings Register 1917-05-17

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 22,120 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Martinson in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

1,153 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Martinson. The most, 303, date from the 1880s. South Australia has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Western Australia, at 3.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 427
Western Australia 258
Queensland 167
Victoria 141
New South Wales 125
Tasmania 16
ACT (Canberra) 9
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Martinson.

Who carried it

People named Martinson,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Vassili Martinson
    Vassili Martinson 1874–1955 · priest
  • Vassili Martinson
    Vassili Martinson 1874–1955 · priest
  • Moa Martinson
    Moa Martinson 1890–1964 · writer
  • Conrad Martinson 1858– · physician
  • Hans Martinson 1872–1935 · politician
  • Enn Murdmaa 1874–1957 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Martinson,
in the records of 6 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States850 records

850 records of the Martinson name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 244
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 214
  • Other U.S. records 392
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Darrell Wayne Martinson

    Born 1947; from Minneapolis, Minnesota. U.S. Army, infantryman; died in an accident 1966 in South Vietnam. Buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minnesota.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Eugene C. Martinson

    Born 1915 in Wisconsin. Enlisted 1941 at Fort Jay Governors Island, New York; radio operator. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Greenwood Cemetery, Superior, Wisconsin.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Cyril E. Martinson

    Arrived at New York in 1907 aboard the America from Southampton, aged 35; stock broker. From London, England; bound for New York. Born in Grimsby, England.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 850 records for Martinson in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia33 records

33 records of the Martinson name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 20
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 6
  • Other Australian records 7
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record George A. V. Martinson

    Iron moulder of West Brunswick, Victoria; died 1952.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Joseph Martinson

    Arrived in Victoria in 1841 as an assisted immigrant aboard the Lysander, aged 26.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Martin Martinson

    Naturalised in Queensland in 1882.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 33 records for Martinson in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada25 records

25 records of the Martinson name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 8
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 7
  • Other Canadian records 10
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Marjory Mae Martinson

    Died 1942; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Margaret Martinson

    Died 1950 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Matthew Browne Martinson

    Died in service in 1916.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 25 records for Martinson in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Netherlands7 records

7 records of the Martinson name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 4
  • Dutch population registers 3
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Alfrid August Martinson

    Died 1949 in Groningen, aged 57; "restaurateur".

    Open Archives, Groninger Archieven (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Margarethe Elwine Marie Martinson

    Died 1966 in 's-Gravenhage, aged 83.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Nicolas Martinson

    In a population register.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 7 records for Martinson in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Germany4 records

4 records of the Martinson name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Wilhelm Martinson

    From Ende-Wittbräucke, Hagen. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 30 July 1915; then reported dead in the list of 23 August 1916 (Infantry Regiment No. 72).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Herm Martinson

    From Farmzerzoll, Stormarn. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 28 October 1915 (Landwehr Infantry Regiment No. 75).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  3. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Johann Martinson

    From Gollawietz, Pleß. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 31 July 1916 (Infantry Regiment No. 23).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Martinson in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Martinson name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record D. Martinson

    Gunner, Gloucestershire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Martinson.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Martinson is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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