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Mertens History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Mertens History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France
Germany

Etymology of Mertens

What does the name Mertens mean?

The French duchy of Gascogne was the home of the family who first used the name Mertens. The surname was derived from the patron saint, Saint Martinus, a Bishop of Tours and Evangelist of la Gaule who was very popular in the Middle Ages.

Early Origins of the Mertens family

The surname Mertens was first found in Gascony (French: Gascogne), an area of southwest France bordering Spain, that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution, where the family has held a family seat from ancient times.

Another source claims the name is from St. martin in Normandy. "This family descends from Walter, Lord of St. Martin, who about 980 married a niece of Duchess Gunnora. William his son was father of Roger, Lord of Mortemer, and of Ralph, Sire de Garenne, and of the Sire de St. Martin, from whom came the family of St. Martin in Normandy and England." 1

Abraham Martin was born in France in 1589 and died in Quebec on 8th September 1664. He arrived in New France, along with his wife and daughter, on the boat "Le Sallemande" on 30th August 1620. Abraham received a plot of land that eventually became the location of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, fought between James Wolfe and Louis-Joseph de Montcalm. This land is still known as "Les Plaines d'Abraham", or in English, "The Plains of Abraham". 2

Early History of the Mertens family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mertens research. Another 486 words (35 lines of text) covering the years 1345, 1370, 1445, 1500, 1550, 1560, 1605, 1634, 1639, 1648, 1673, 1676, 1681, 1689, 1693, 1699, 1706, 1710, 1711, 1717, 1721, 1742, 1743, 1755, 1789, 1800, 1803, 1810, 1818 and 1820 are included under the topic Early Mertens History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mertens Spelling Variations

Throughout the course of history most surnames have undergone changes for many reasons. During the early development of the French language, a son and father may not have chosen to spell their name the same way. Many are simple spelling changes by a person who gave his name, phonetically, to a scribe, priest, or recorder. Many names held prefixes or suffixes which became optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, we have many spelling variations of this name, Mertens some of which are Martin, Martine, Lamartine, Martinat, Martinaud, Martinault, Martinot, Martineau, Martinet, Martiné, Martinon, Martinesque, Martet, Marthet, Marté, Martaud, Martault, Martot, Marti, Marty, Martinenche, Martiena, Martirena, Martens, Mertens, Saint-Martin and many more.

Early Notables of the Mertens family

Notable amongst the family at this time was François Martin (1634-1706), the first Governor General of Pondicherry, Commissioner of French India (1681-1693), Governor-General of French India (1699-1706); Charles-Amador Martin, (1648-1711), Canadian clergyman, the second Canadian to be ordained a priest; Jean-Baptiste Martin, an officer and...
Another 44 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Mertens Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mertens World Ranking

In the United States, the name Mertens is the 7,390^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 3 However, in France, the name Mertens is ranked the 5,677^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 4 And in Netherlands, the name Mertens is the 403^rd popular surname with an estimated 4,032 people with that name. 5

Mertens migration to the United States +

Approximately 110 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec. France gave land incentives for 2,000 migrants during the next decade. Early marriage was desperately encouraged amongst the immigrants. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. 15,000 explorers left Montreal in the late 17th and 18th centuries. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. Migration to New France (Quebec) continued from France until it fell in 1759. In the year 1675 the Acadian presence in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had reached 500. In 1755, 10,000 French Acadians refused to take an oath of allegiance to England and were deported to Louisiana. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The distinguished family name Mertens has made significant contributions to the culture, arts, sciences and religion of France and New France. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Mertens were

Mertens Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Johannes Mertens, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1742 6
George Mertens, who landed in America in 1776
Christ Mertens, who landed in America in 1778 6
Georg Mertens, who landed in America in 1780 6
Jacob Mertens, who arrived in America in 1783 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Mertens Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Mertens, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1825
Trims Mertens, who arrived in North America in 1832-1849 6
H Mertens, who landed in North America in 1832-1849 6
Claus Mertens, aged 24, who landed in Missouri in 1840 6
Justine Wieland Mertens, aged 52, who landed in America in 1843 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Mertens migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Mertens Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Jacob Mertens, who landed in Canada in 1783

Mertens Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Christoph Mertens, who arrived in Quebec in 1850

Mertens migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Mertens Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Catherine Mertens, (b. 1845), aged 20, British domestic servant travelling from London aboard the ship 'Mermaid' arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 1st January 1866 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Mertens (post 1700) +

William Mertens Jr., American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from New York, 1944 (alternate), 1956 (alternate), 1960; Presidential Elector for New York, 1952; Candidate for Justice of New York Supreme Court 1st District, 1956
Kevin Mertens, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from South Carolina, 2004
John J. Mertens (b. 1870), American politician, Member of South Dakota State House of Representatives 40th District, 1909-12; Member of South Dakota State Senate 36th District, 1921-24
H. C. Mertens, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Missouri State House of Representatives from Osage County, 1933-34
Charles A. Mertens, American politician, Member of Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from Erie County, 1901-02
Raymond Mertens (1933-2023), Belgian football player and manager who played as a goalkeeper (1965-1992)
Barbara Mertens (1968-2021), Belgian journalist and television presenter
René Mertens (1922-2014), Belgian racing cyclist
Jean-François Mertens (1946-2012), Belgian game theorist and mathematical economist
Stéphane Mertens (b. 1959), Belgian motorcycle road racer
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Mertens family +

Bismarck

Kurt Mertens (1915-1941), German Matrosenhauptgefreiter who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking 8
Otto Mertens (1915-1941), German Maschinenmaat Res. who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking 8

Citations +

The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
"Most Common Last Names in Netherlands." Forebears, https://forebears.io/netherlands/surnames
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Bismarck & Tirpitz Class - Crew List Bismarck. (Retrieved 2018, February 06). Retrieved from https://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/crew/bismarck_crew.html#crew_details