Why are so many people from Lancashire called Martin?

[Accy cyclist]

I don't know of that many Martins in my part of Lancashire,but there's an awful lot of Mick and Daves!! The surname Hargreaves is popular in Accrington,as is Patel!

 

[Aperitif]

Martins are known for their 'bingo wings'...especially house martins. It truly is an odd name; Exchange & Martin doesn't have the same gravitas, neither Martique, But, no man is an island, so we have to put up with the long and the short of it.

 

[vernon]

I don't really know anyone called Martin... I used to know a Martin but he was a southerner from Chorley.

On a side note though... I have noticed a large proportion of people called Graham are ginger.

That's because it's a popular Scottish name nicked from England in the 12th century. My kid brother is called Graham and although at first inspection he appears to be Afro Caribbean, closer inspection revealed red highlights in his hair, a legacy of the Scottish bloodline on our mothers side.

 

[ASC1951]

... My kid brother is called Graham and although at first inspection he appears to be Afro Caribbean, closer inspection revealed red highlights in his hair, a legacy of the Scottish bloodline on our mothers side.

IIRC red hair is a mutation originating only in the Baltic and Norse countries ie everyone on the planet with red hair has that link.

 

[vernon]

IIRC red hair is a mutation originating only in the Baltic and Norse countries ie everyone on the planet with red hair has that link.

OK so the red highlights came from the Baltic and Norse counties via Scotland.

 

[ASC1951]

OK so the red highlights came from the Baltic and Norse counties via Scotland.

I wasn't trying to correct you, Vernon - sorry if it sounded like that!
It was just an obscure fact that had stuck in my head. Usually mutations, even uncommon ones, arise spontaneously in several places; but red hair is apparently a unique occurrence.

 

[vernon]

I too am familiar with the original source of red hair and was surprised when I discovered it. As my maternal bloodline is Scottish with a propensity for red hair it is a closer link to my sibling's highlights though it might have been osmotic through being raised in the north east with its elevated population ratio of nordic descendents.

The ginger element in me manifests itself in my nasal hair a fraction of which is pure ginger.

 

[PK99]

IIRC red hair is a mutation originating only in the Baltic and Norse countries ie everyone on the planet with red hair has that link.

I've got a ginger beard, Daughter #1 is tall, slim,blond, I have Dupuytren's contracture - all nordic traits, grandparents were from west of ireland ie Viking link to Norse countries