Given name & surname
Morten
“dedicated to Mars, the god of war”·“from the town near the moor”
Morten is a form of Martin. One Latin interpretation is “dedicated to Mars, the god of war.” Morten is a variant of Morton. One English interpretation is “from the town near the moor.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Morten is a form of Martin. One Latin interpretation is “dedicated to Mars, the god of war.” Morten is a variant of Morton. One English interpretation is “from the town near the moor.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Morten is a form of Martin. An origin associated with Martin is Latin. Morten is a variant of Morton. An origin associated with Morton is Old English.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In Danish use, Morten is used as a form of Martin.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1914. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Morten is a form of Martin. The history of Martin gives this family its wider story. Martin was in use during the Middle Ages. Morten is a variant of Morton. The history of Morton gives this family its wider story. Morton’s naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Morten through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 43
- 43 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1929
- 8 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 6 in 1934. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 8 in 1929. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 394 as a first name in 2020; 574 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Morten’s family of names
In Norwegian Bokmål usage, Morten shares a linguistic root with the English form Martin. In Danish usage, Morten has a conventional equivalent in the Polish form Marcin. Morten is a form of Martin.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Morten has relatives in 9 languages.
9 related names in 9 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 18
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Morten
- Morten P. MeldalDanish chemist (born 1954)
- Morten Gamst PedersenNorwegian footballer (born 1981)
- Morten OlsenDanish footballerborn 1949
- Morten TyldumNorwegian film directorborn 1967
- Morten HarketNorwegian singerborn 1959
- Morten HjulmandDanish association football player (born 1999)
- Morten ThorsbyNorwegian footballer (born 1996)
- Morten Thrane BrünnichDanish zoologist and mineralogist (1737-1827)
- Morten OlsenDanish handball playerborn 1984
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Morten, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Merlin
Merlin is used as a given name and a surname. One Welsh interpretation is “of the sea fortress; in Arthurian legend, the wizard and mentor of King Arthur.”
82% boys · 18% girls
Myron
“refers to myrrh, a fragrant oil”
>99% boys
Orlin
“the golden child”
>99% boys
Olen
“filled with happiness”
>99% boys
Marvin
“a friend of the sea”
>99% boys
Oran
“surrounded by light” · “a pale-skinned man”
>99% boys
Aldon
“an old friend” · “from the old town”
>99% boys
Melvin
“a friend who offers counsel”
>99% boys