From the personal name Martin, honouring St Martin of Tours — the Martins arrived as Anglo-Normans and became one of the fourteen ‘Tribes of Galway’.
Norman Origin · Root name Martin, honouring St Martin of Tours
Martin comes from the Norman personal name Martin, itself honouring the fourth-century St Martin of Tours. The family arrived with the Anglo-Norman invasion and, settling in Galway, became one of the city's fourteen merchant ‘Tribes’ — the same class of family as the Lynches and Blakes.
A saint's name that crossed the sea with knights and stayed on as merchants — Galway's Martins built their fortune on trade, not conquest.
Irish form: Mac Máirtín
