Matthew

What Matthew means

Means “gift of the Lord”

Compare Hebrew מַתִּתְיָהוּ (mattiṯyāhū, literally “gift of the Lord”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Matthew” (revision 94541536), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Matthew?

US: Falling: down from #15 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #47 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1983, when 50,209 boys got the name (#3 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 244 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 770 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 302 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in AK (8.36 per 1,000 boys), CT (6.97 per 1,000 boys), FL (6.89 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Matthew is #32 in the US and #153 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9% of US babies named Matthew were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Mathew235 US · 11 E&W
• Matthieu11 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Nicknames

• Mat
• Matt
• Matty
• Mattie

Listed on Wiktionary under “pet forms”.

If you like Matthew

Boys

• Joseph#29“(God) shall add”^*
• Michael#21“who is like God?”^*
• Daniel#22“God is my judge”^*
• David#35“beloved”^*
• Joe#991Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1936, with 8,023 babies; 230 in 2025
• Timothy#203“to honour + god”^*

For a sister

• Elizabeth#17“my God is an oath”^*
• Jessica#665possibly “Iscah in Genesis 11:29, Jescha in the Wycliffe…^*
• Sarah#90“masters, princes”^*
• Michelle#465Feminine form of Michel, meaning “who is like God?”^*
• Rebecca#349“enchantingly beautiful, captivating, snare”^*
• Samantha#151“listener”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Bible, Hebrew, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Matthew’s. Rank is US 2025.