The Martinek NameMartinek
Czech, about 9,900 people strong, and a name that goes back to the Roman god Mars. Mark says it MAR-tin-ek. In Czech, word stress almost always falls on the first syllable (Czech phonology).
“Little Martin”
The Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) gives Martinek as Czech-Slovak: “descendant of little Martin (belonging to Mars, the god of war).” The -ek ending is a Czech diminutive, the way Štěpán becomes Štěpánek. Diminutive surnames were used to tell a father from a son, or a taller person from a shorter one.
Martin ← Martinus ← Mars
Martin comes from the Latin Martinus, a late form derived from Mars, the Roman god of war. Mars was also an agricultural guardian, and March is named for him.
Forms & cousins
Spellings include MartinekMartínekMartineckMartynek. The feminine form is Martínková. Cousin surnames across Europe include Martinec, Martinović, Martinescu, Martens and Martínez.
Still a favourite name
Martin was among the most popular Czech boys' names from 1999 to 2007, alongside Jan, Jakub and Tomáš.
Wikipedia: Czech name (citing the Czech Statistical Office)
Where Martineks live
people bearing Martinek worldwide (Forebears estimate). That makes it the 51,786th most common surname, about 1 in 736,786 people.
in Czechia, about 1 in 2,225 people. It ranks 143rd there.
in the United States, about 24% of all bearers.
countries and territories where Forebears finds the name.
Source: Forebears.io: Martinek (retrieved Oct 2026). Forebears counts the accented Martínek (385) separately.
Bearers by country (map)
Circle area is proportional to Forebears' count. Circles sit at approximate country centres. Map outline: Natural Earth (public domain).
Per-million figures are computed from Forebears' “1 in N” frequencies.
United States: then and now
Forebears records 77 bearers in the 1880 US census and 2,377 in 2014, roughly 31 times as many.
In Czechia, by region
Forebears says 16% live in the Central Bohemian Region, 13% in Prague and 13% in the South Moravian Region.
Two spellings, two maps
Czech Interior Ministry data (via KdeJsme.cz, 2016) counts 2,935 Martínek (1 in 3,646 people) and 2,022 Martinek (1 in 5,292). The accented form clusters around Prague and Bohemia: Vlašim has 1 in 856. The unaccented form is strongest in Moravia: Valašské Meziříčí has 1 in 1,218 and Blansko 1 in 1,265.
Counts by administrative district (obec s rozšířenou působností), KdeJsme.cz.
From Bohemia & Moravia to America
St Martin's Day: 11 November
Czechs say “Martin přijíždí na bílém koni” (“Martin arrives on a white horse”), because the first snow often comes in early November. The day brings roast goose, horseshoe-shaped svatomartinské rohlíčky, and the first young wine, Svatomartinské víno, poured around Prague at 11:11 a.m. Legend says Saint Martin hid among geese to avoid becoming a bishop, and their cackling gave him away.
Notable Martineks
From Wikipedia's Martinek name list; each links to the person's article.
A little heraldry
The basics
Heraldry uses nine common tinctures. There are two metals, Or (gold)Argent (silver), five colours, GulesAzureVertSablePurpure, and two furs, ermine and vair. The rule of tincture says: no metal on metal, no colour on colour. A blazon is the formal written description you can redraw a coat of arms from.
Tincture · Rule of tincture · Blazon
Czech arms
Czech heraldry took shape in the 12th–13th centuries under the Přemyslid rulers. Arms could be registered at the Royal Court in Prague until 1621, and after that in Vienna until 1918. The double-tailed silver Bohemian lion turns up in many town arms.
Mark's modern emblem
Blazon: Per chevron Azure and Argent, a chevron Or, in chief two mullets of six points Or, in base a trimount Vert. Crest: on a wreath Argent and Gules, a roundel Gules within an annulet Or, a small satellite Argent in orbit. Mantling Gules doubled Argent. Motto: LONGE PROSPICIO (“I look far ahead”).
Read it as: blue sky over a white field, two gold stars, green foothills below, and Mars on top with something orbiting it.
An original design for this site. Each tincture follows the rule: Or on Azure, Vert on Argent.