Explore the Family Name San Martin

The meaning of San Martin

Spanish (San Martín; also Sanmartín): habitational name from any of numerous places so named for a local shrine or church dedicated to Saint Martin (Spanish San Martín); see Martin. Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Jose, Jorge, Juan, Luis, Carlos, Roberto, Francisco, Julio, Pedro, Alejandro, Ana, Arnaldo.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name San Martin in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname San Martin has been growing in popularity over the years. In 2000, it ranked 17,748 in popularity, but by 2010 it had risen to 14,160, an increase of 20.22%. The count of people with this surname also increased significantly, from 1,456 in 2000 to 2,121 in 2010, marking a 45.67% growth. Similarly, the proportion of individuals named San Martin per 100k rose by 33.33% over this decade.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#17,748	#14,160	20.22%
Count	1,456	2,121	45.67%
Proportion per 100k	0.54	0.72	33.33%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name San Martin

In terms of ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows some shifts among those with the surname San Martin between 2000 and 2010. The majority identified as Hispanic, at 84.48% in 2000 and increasing slightly to 87.51% in 2010. Those who identified as White decreased from 12.84% to 11.27%, while the percentage of Asian/Pacific Islanders dropped from 0.76% to 0.42%. Interestingly, there was no reported change for those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native. Meanwhile, those identifying as Black decreased significantly from 1.03% to 0.33%, and those identifying as two or more races appeared in 2010 with a share of 0.47%.

	2000	2010	Change
Hispanic	84.48%	87.51%	3.59%
White	12.84%	11.27%	-12.23%
Two or More Races	0%	0.47%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.76%	0.42%	-44.74%
Black	1.03%	0.33%	-67.96%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%