FastNamesMatthew
Hebrew name meaning "Derived from Hebrew Mattityahu (מַתִּתְיָהוּ), meaning 'gift of Yahweh' or 'gift of God', composed of mattat ('gift') and Yah (the divine name).". Ranked 32nd for boys in 2025.
Meaning and origin of Matthew
Derived from Hebrew Mattityahu (מַתִּתְיָהוּ), meaning 'gift of Yahweh' or 'gift of God', composed of mattat ('gift') and Yah (the divine name).
Linguistically, Matthew is classified under Hebrew naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "MATH-yoo".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, Matthew has been given to a total of 1,654,075 boys. It has also been given to 5,580 girls.
Peak year: Matthew reached its highest relative share among boys in 1983, when 50,209 babies received the name (28,010 per million births).
All-time best rank: 2nd place, first achieved in 1995.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 32nd with 7,003 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 15th (down 17 spots).
Busiest decade: More boys were named Matthew in the 1980s than in any other decade (458,951 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,068 |
| 1890s | 1,132 |
| 1900s | 1,188 |
| 1910s | 6,228 |
| 1920s | 8,566 |
| 1930s | 6,255 |
| 1940s | 8,760 |
| 1950s | 35,796 |
| 1960s | 105,938 |
| 1970s | 277,727 |
| 1980s | 458,951 |
| 1990s | 351,682 |
| 2000s | 221,631 |
| 2010s | 125,101 |
| 2020s | 44,052 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where Matthew is most common in the US
Accounting for when Matthew was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- New Hampshire: 1.6 times the national rate (8,976 births since 1910).
- Rhode Island: 1.5 times the national rate (8,409 births since 1910).
- Massachusetts: 1.5 times the national rate (54,724 births since 1910).
- Connecticut: 1.5 times the national rate (26,666 births since 1910).
- Vermont: 1.4 times the national rate (3,852 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name Matthew?
About 1,530,000 living American boys and men share the name Matthew. Additionally, an estimated 5,300 living American girls and women share the name.
The median age of an American named Matthew is 37 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name Matthew
Matthew derives from the biblical Hebrew name Mattityahu, combining mattat ('gift') with Yahweh ('the Lord'). In the New Testament, Matthew (also known as Levi) was a Galilean tax collector called by Jesus to become one of the twelve Apostles, and he is traditionally credited as the author of the First Gospel. The name passed into Hellenistic Greek as Matthaios and ecclesiastical Latin as Matthaeus before entering medieval European vernaculars.
Following the Norman Conquest of 1066, Matthew became firmly rooted in England, recorded frequently in both Latinized documents (Matheus) and Norman vernacular forms (Mathieu, Matheu). The name gave rise to numerous medieval English patronymics and surnames, including Matthews, Matthewson, and Matts. It persisted through the Reformation and remained a staple of English and Scottish parish registers across the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
In the United States, Matthew maintained a steady presence in nineteenth-century birth records, generally hovering between ranks 100 and 200. Beginning in the late 1950s, the name entered a phenomenal upward trajectory as mid-century parents embraced traditional biblical names. By 1972, Matthew crossed into the national top ten, where it remained comfortably for more than thirty years, peaking at number two in 1995 and 1996 with over 45,000 newborn boys per year.
Notable people named Matthew
- Matthew Arnold (1822–1888), Poet and cultural critic
- Matthew Perry (1794–1858), Naval commodore
- Matthew McConaughey (1969–), Actor
- Matthew Broderick (1962–), Actor
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 188.
- E. G. Withycombe. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (1977), p. 213.
- Douglas Harper. Online Etymology Dictionary. Reference link.