Martin is a city in Weakley County, Tennessee, United States. Martin, Tennessee is named for Captain William Martin. William Martin was born in Halifax County, Virginia in 1806, and moved to Weakley County, Tennessee with his wife Sarah in 1832. Captain Martin prospered through tobacco farming and began working to establish a railroad connection in what would later become Martin in 1852. It was not until after his death in 1859 that his sons, led primarily by George W. Martin, persuaded the Mississippi Central Railroad to locate a connection with the Nasville and Northwestern Railroad in what would become Martin, Tennessee in 1872 Martin is the home of the University of Tennessee at Martin. The population was 11,473 at the 2010 census.