Mertens

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title: "Mertens" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["dutch-patronymic-surnames", "surnames-of-belgian-origin", "surnames-derived-from-given-names"] topic_path: "geography/netherlands" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mertens" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

NOTOC Mertens () is a surname of Flemish origin, meaning "son of Merten" (Martin). It is the fifth most common name in Belgium with 18,518 people in 2008.

Geographical distribution

As of 2014, 43.4% of all known bearers of the surname Mertens were residents of Germany (frequency 1:2,728), 34.8% of Belgium (1:487), 8.8% of the United States (1:60,847), 5.9% of the Netherlands (1:4,188), 1.7% of France (1:57,632) and 1.0% of Brazil (1:299,871).

In Belgium, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:487) only in one region: Flemish Region (1:367).

In Germany, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:2,728) in the following regions:

• 1. North Rhine-Westphalia (1:970)
• 2. Saxony-Anhalt (1:1,361)

In the Netherlands, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:4,188) in the following provinces:.

• 1. Limburg (1:959)
• 2. North Brabant (1:2,002)

Noble House of Mertens de Wilmars

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Praenobilis_Familia_MERTENS.jpg" caption="Crest of the House of Mertens"] ::

• Charles Mertens de Wilmars (1921–1994), Belgian psychiatrist
• Josse Mertens de Wilmars (1912–2002), Belgian jurist

Others

C

• Charles Mertens (1862–1919), Belgian painter, printmaker and illustrator
• Christian Mertens (born 1991), German politician
• Claas Mertens (born 1992), German rower
• Conner Mertens (born ca. 1994), American football player

D

• Dries Mertens (born 1987), Belgian footballer
• Dylan Mertens (born 1995), Dutch footballer

E

• Elise Mertens (born 1995), Belgian tennis player
• Els Mertens (born 1966), Belgian racing cyclist
• Ewald Mertens (1909–1965), German middle-distance runner

F

• Frank Mertens (born 1961), German keyboardist and composer
• Franz Mertens (1840–1927), German mathematician
  • Mertens conjecture, Mertens function, Mertens' theorems, and Meissel–Mertens constant
• Franz Carl Mertens (1764–1831), German botanist

G

• Gregory Mertens (1991–2015), Belgian footballer

H

• Helmut Mertens (1917–1984), German fighter ace

J

• Jan Mertens the Younger (died ca. 1527), South Netherlandish painter
• Jan Mertens (1904–1964), Belgian cyclist.
• Jan Mertens (1916–2000), Dutch politician
• Jan Mertens (born 1995), Belgian footballer
• Jean-François Mertens (1946–2012), Belgian game theorist known
  • Mertens-stable equilibrium, Mertens' voting game
• Jerry Mertens (born 1936), American football cornerback
• Jim Mertens (born 1947), American football player
• John J. Mertens (1869 – 1924), South Dakota politician
• Joseph Mertens (1921–2007), Belgian archaeologist

K

• Karl Heinrich Mertens (1796–1830), German botanist and naturalist
• Klaus Mertens (born 1949), German bass singer
• Klaus Mertens (born 1950), German artist

L

• Lennart Mertens (born 1992), Belgian footballer
• Linda Mertens (born 1978), Belgian singer
• Lothar Mertens (1959–2006), German historian

M

• Michael Mertens (born 1965), German shot putter

P

• Peter Mertens (born 1969), Belgian author and politician
• Pierre Mertens (1939–2025), Belgian-French writer and lawyer
• Pieter Mertens (born 1980), Belgian road bicycle racer
• Peter Mertens (born 1944) Canadian politician

R

• René Mertens (1922–2014), Belgian racing cyclist
• Robert Mertens (1894–1975), German herpetologist
  • Mertens' water monitor
  • Robert Mertens's day gecko

S

• Sibylle Mertens-Schaaffhausen (1797–1857), German art collector and musician
• Stéphane Mertens (born 1959), Belgian motorcycle road racer

T

• Thomas Mertens (fl. 1666–1669, Flemish still life painter
• Tim Mertens (born 1986), Belgian racing cyclist

W

• W. Mertens (fl. 1650–1675), Flemish still life painter
• Wim Mertens (born 1953), Belgian musician

Y

• Yannick Mertens (born 1987), Belgian tennis player

Z

• Zenia Mertens (born 2001), Belgian footballer

Fictional characters

• Finn Mertens, main protagonist of the American animated television series Adventure Time
• Martin Mertens, a character who is Finn's Father in the American animated television series Adventure Time
• Mertens, the protagonist of the 1998 PlayStation video game Colony Wars: Vengeance

References

References

1. [https://forebears.io/surnames/mertens Mertens surname distribution]

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