Martell

Where Martell comes from

Martell hasn't made it into the dictionaries we draw on, and nobody well known enough for an encyclopedia has carried it yet — so for now its story is the one the SSA record tells. Names that spell a familiar sound a new way often live here for a while before anyone writes them down.

Along the way
  1. 1917
    First appearance
    #2,956 among boys, 8 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1920
    Mostly boys from here
    Until now more girls than boys got the name; from this year it's the other way round, and has stayed that way.
  3. 1986
    Martell Webster born
    American basketball player
  4. 1986
    Peak, #811
    124 babies named Martell — more than any year before or since.
  5. 1994
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #1,564.
  6. 1999
    Martell Taylor-Crossdale born
    English footballer
In the dictionary

No dictionary entry for this spelling — which is its own kind of rare.

Namesakes
  • Martell Webster · American basketball player, born 1986
  • Martell Taylor-Crossdale · English footballer, born 1999
  • Martell Mallett · Player of American and Canadian football, born 1986

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.