Kjartan is a masculine given name found in the Nordic countries, most prominently in Iceland and Norway. The Old Norse name Kjartan was a shortening of Mýrkjartan, from Old Irish: Muirchertach, the name of an Irish king whose daughter Melkorka was brought to Iceland as a slave. The Irish name Muirchertach, meaning "mariner", is modernised to Muircheartach, anglicised as Murtagh.
