Mertens
A Flemish and Dutch patronymic surname meaning “son of Martin.”
The #7,597 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 70,570 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Mertens is a patronymic surname built on the personal name Martin, with the Dutch/Flemish genitive or reduced form Merten(s) coming to mean “Martin’s (son).” The sources specifically connect it with Flemish usage and note that it is common in Belgium. In French contexts, it is likewise explained as descending from Martin rather than from a separate root.
History
The name is especially associated with Belgium and the Low Countries, where it appears as a well-established family name. Historical surname manuals also record it in Dutch patronymic patterns alongside forms like Martens and Maartensz. In German- and French-language indexing, it is often treated as a continental variant of Martin-derived surnames.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century source explicitly says the form is “not uncommon in Belgium.”
From the historical record
“Merri. MERTENS. Of Flemish origin. This name, or more correctly Melirtens, is not imcommon in Belgium. MINSTER.* There are parishes speci- fically called Minster in the counties of Cornwall, Kent, Essex, and Oxford. MONCUR.* The family were " of that Ilk." temp. Robert I. and David Bruce. Nisbet.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom