Martin Luther King, Jr. Was Originally Named Michael And so was his father, Martin Luther King, Sr., who changed his first name from Michael in homage to the famous German Protestant reformer of the 16th century, Martin Luther, after he visited Germany in 1931. Michael Luther King, Jr., who was two years old at the time, thus also got a new name.
https://facts.net/history/people/martin-luther-king-jr-facts

