Character Name
Marty
Marty Marty carries the martial energy of Mars compressed through Saint Martin's radical generosity into the affectionate American diminutive tradition — the Roman war god's name transformed by a saint who shared his only warm garment and by a popular culture that uses it for everyman heroes. The name has a particular resonance of ordinary courage, the person who does the right thing not heroically but because it is the right thing, and who discovers in that ordinariness a kind of quiet heroism. It suits protagonists whose significance is not apparent until their choices reveal it.
Best genres for Marty
Famous characters named Marty
Marty McFly
Back to the Future — Robert Zemeckis / Bob Gale
The teenager who travels back in time in a DeLorean and must ensure his parents fall in love without altering the timeline, combining everyman likability with the particular anxiety of self-creation.
Marty
Marty — Paddy Chayefsky
The shy Bronx butcher whose loneliness and unexpected romance in Chayefsky's television and film drama became a landmark portrait of ordinary working-class American longing.
Variations & nicknames
Pairs well with
Writing a character named Marty?
Hearth's distraction-free editor helps you develop characters and write every day.
Related names
Marcus
Latin · “From the Latin Marcus, one of the most common Roman praenomina, thought to derive either from the Etruscan name Marce or from Mars, the Roman god of war — whose own name may come from an ancient root meaning "to glisten" or from the Etruscan Maris. Marcus was borne by emperors, statesmen, and philosophers, most notably Marcus Aurelius, the Stoic emperor-philosopher whose Meditations remain a foundational text of Western ethical thought.”
Marcel
French · “Marcel is a French and Occitan masculine name, a form of Marcellus, itself a diminutive of the Roman praenomen Marcus, ultimately linked to Mars, the Roman god of war. The name is widely used in France, Belgium, and Switzerland, and also found in Poland, Hungary, and Romania, where it carries a cosmopolitan, slightly intellectual quality.”
More Latin names
Patrick
“Patrick derives from the Latin "Patricius", meaning "nobleman" or "of patrician rank", from "pater" (father) and the suffix denoting social class. Saint Patrick, the 5th-century Romano-British missionary who became the patron saint of Ireland, was born Maewyn Succat but adopted the Latin name Patricius upon entering the church. Through his legacy, Patrick became the defining masculine name of Irish Catholic tradition.”
Luce
“From the Latin lux (genitive lucis) meaning "light". In Italian the name functions as both a feminine given name and a word meaning light itself, giving it an unusual directness of meaning. It shares its root with Lucius, Lucy, and Lucia, all part of the ancient Roman naming tradition that honored light as a primal virtue.”
Marcus
“From the Latin Marcus, one of the most common Roman praenomina, thought to derive either from the Etruscan name Marce or from Mars, the Roman god of war — whose own name may come from an ancient root meaning "to glisten" or from the Etruscan Maris. Marcus was borne by emperors, statesmen, and philosophers, most notably Marcus Aurelius, the Stoic emperor-philosopher whose Meditations remain a foundational text of Western ethical thought.”
Ciro
“The Italian form of Cyrus, from the Greek Kyros, itself likely derived from the Old Persian Kūruš. The meaning is disputed: it may come from the Persian khur meaning "sun" or "throne", or from a root meaning "humiliator of the enemy". Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, made this one of the most celebrated names of antiquity.”
Chauncey
“From the English and French surname Chauncey, derived from a place name in Normandy (Chancé or Chanteloup), possibly from the Latin calciata (paved road). The surname was borne by prominent American families, most notably the Puritan divine Charles Chauncy and his descendants, and later became a given name in American usage, particularly among the upper classes.”
Bernardo
“The Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese form of Bernard, from the Old High German Bernhard composed of bern meaning "bear" and hard meaning "brave, strong" — thus "brave as a bear". The name was borne by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, the twelfth-century theologian and Doctor of the Church whose influence on medieval Christianity was second only to the Pope's.”
Explore more