Every Boy Name

Boy's name

Matthew

Say it MATH-yoo 2 syllables

Hebrew · “gift of the Lord”

Common in Ontario, Ireland, Scotland, and 2 more places. Rare in France, England and Wales, Italy, and 16 more places.

1 in 224 boys born in Northern Ireland in 2025. Number 61 there.

Matthew in every place

Rank, count and share in all 40 places: loved in 0, common in 5, rare in 19.
Matthew in every place we hold figures for
Place Rankyear Boysshare 5 years earlier
British Isles
England and Wales153 (down)20253531 in 7701142020
Scotland79 (down)2025651 in 302552020
Northern Ireland61 (down)2025371 in 224252020
Ireland55 (down)2025981 in 242392020
North America
Ontario (province)41 (down)2024223about 1 in 269302019
Quebec (province)210 (down)202526about 1 in 1,1171682020
British Columbia (province)74 (down)202341about 1 in 317412018
Nova Scotia (province)Not in the published top 212025Not listed2020
Oceania
New South Wales (state)Not in the published top 1002025742020
Victoria (state)Not in the published top 1012025952020
Queensland (state)Not in the published top 1012025932020
South Australia (state)Not in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
New ZealandNot in the published top 10020251002020
Western Europe
France668 (down)2025601 in 5,0454762020
Netherlands458 (down)202532about 1 in 2,0794452020
Central Europe
Austria1,842 (down)202511 in 38,0679612020
Switzerland625 (down)2025111 in 3,2734572020
Berlin (city)Rare: below the complete list20236762018
Munich (city)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Cologne (city)Rare: below the complete list20239802018
Bonn (city)397 (new in the list)20251about 1 in 3,170Not listed2020
Leipzig (city)389 (new in the list)20251about 1 in 2,876Not listed2020
Rostock (city)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Nordic countries
NorwayRare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Sweden834 (new in the list)20255about 1 in 8,626Not listed2020
DenmarkNot in the published top 502025Not listed2020
FinlandNot in the published top 502025No list2020
IcelandNot in the published top 102025No list2020
Southern Europe
SpainNot in the published top 1002024Not listed2019
Catalonia (region)426 (down)202571 in 2,9583912020
Italy467 (new in the list)2024231 in 8,233Not listed2019
Central and Eastern Europe
Poland490 (up)202541 in 31,6014922020
HungaryNot in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
SloveniaRare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
EstoniaNot in the published top 272025Not listed2020
Moscow (city)Not in the published top 612025Not listed2020
CroatiaNot in the published top 502025No list2020
Middle East
TurkeyNot in the published top 302025Not listed2020
IsraelRare: below the complete list2024Not listed2019
Latin America
ArgentinaNot in the published top 202024Not listed2019

Germany publishes no national list; the German rows are city registers. About: the publisher leaves out its smallest names, so the share is approximate. ▲ and ▼ compare the rank with five years earlier. Not listed five years earlier: not in that year’s list. No list: the place published no list that year. How these figures are computed.

About the name

The apostle and gospel writer Matthew gave this name its place in Christian tradition. It came into English through Old French Mathieu and Latin Matthaeus from the Greek Matthaîos, and further back from Aramaic mattay. It is linked to the Hebrew mattiṯyāhū, and its meaning is 'gift of the Lord'.

2 more paragraphs

It has two syllables, MATH-yoo, and a soft, steady sound. Matt is the obvious short form, and the family includes Mathew, Mathieu, Matteo, Mateo, Mateusz and Mattias.

Matthew is a name of the recent past more than the present. In Canada it peaked in the 1980s, and it is falling in most of the places where it is ranked. It still ranks in Ontario and Ireland and is most common in Northern Ireland, while on the Continent it appears only far down the lists in Catalonia, the Netherlands and Italy.

Meaning, origin and how to say it

Say it
MATH-yoo · 2 syllables · Stress on beat 1 of 2.
Meaning
“gift of the Lord”
Origin
Hebrew
Related names
Matvii, Mateusz, Matteo, Mateo, Mate, Mattia, Mattias, Matyas, Matvey, Mathis, Matija, Mateu, Mathias, Matias, Matej, Matthias, Mattathias, Mathew, Mathieu, Matthaeus, Matt, Matteus, Mattis, Matti, Mads, Matthäus, Mateus, Matúš
Where Matthew comes from (Wiktionary)

From earlier Matheu, from Old French Mathieu, from Latin Matthaeus, from Ancient Greek Ματθαῖος (Matthaîos), from Aramaic מַתַּי (mattay). Compare Hebrew מַתִּתְיָהוּ (mattiṯyāhū, literally “gift of the Lord”). Doublet of Mattathias.

Shortened from the Wiktionary entry for Matthew. Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Matthew over time

Rising in 0 of the 11 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 9. Peak in Ontario and British Columbia: 1986.

Rank in England and Wales, 1996 to 2025

Matthew in England and Wales: #6 in 1996, and #153 in 2025.

#1#10#50#100#300200020052010201520202025Top 101996: #6, 7,426 boys1997: #6, 7,443 boys1998: #6, 7,171 boys1999: #6, 6,152 boys2000: #9, 5,482 boys2001: #9, 4,839 boys2002: #12, 4,367 boys2003: #12, 4,480 boys2004: #12, 4,227 boys2005: #15, 3,633 boys2006: #18, 3,400 boys2007: #24, 2,969 boys2008: #28, 2,531 boys2009: #38, 2,122 boys2010: #41, 1,984 boys2011: #43, 1,743 boys2012: #47, 1,518 boys2013: #47, 1,319 boys2014: #49, 1,216 boys2015: #47, 1,279 boys2016: #53, 1,110 boys2017: #67, 948 boys2018: #82, 757 boys2019: #99, 633 boys2020: #114, 492 boys2021: #123, 472 boys2022: #118, 469 boys2023: #137, 394 boys2024: #149, 355 boys2025: #153, 353 boyspeak #6, 1996#153in 2025
Show the numbers
YearRankBoys
199667,426
199767,443
199867,171
199966,152
200095,482
200194,839
2002124,367
2003124,480
2004124,227
2005153,633
2006183,400
2007242,969
2008282,531
2009382,122
2010411,984
2011431,743
2012471,518
2013471,319
2014491,216
2015471,279
2016531,110
201767948
201882757
201999633
2020114492
2021123472
2022118469
2023137394
2024149355
2025153353

Source: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3)

The long view: in Ontario and British Columbia

Half of the boys named Matthew in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 1990. Peak: 1986, about 3,572 per 100,000 boys. Babies per 100,000 boys, five-year periods.

1925-1929: 37.9 per 100,000 boys1930-1934: 38 per 100,000 boys1935-1939: 28.3 per 100,000 boys1940-1944: 28.8 per 100,000 boys19401945-1949: 30.4 per 100,000 boys1950-1954: 57.3 per 100,000 boys1955-1959: 127.1 per 100,000 boys1960-1964: 185.7 per 100,000 boys19601965-1969: 330.5 per 100,000 boys1970-1974: 920.9 per 100,000 boys1975-1979: 1,785.9 per 100,000 boys1980-1984: 3,157.1 per 100,000 boys19801985-1989: 3,413.6 per 100,000 boys1990-1994: 2,796.5 per 100,000 boys1995-1999: 2,631.2 per 100,000 boys2000-2004: 2,180.5 per 100,000 boys20002005-2009: 1,458.7 per 100,000 boys2010-2014: 864.3 per 100,000 boys2015-2019: 557.3 per 100,000 boys2020-2024: 372.9 per 100,000 boys20201985-1989: about 1 in 29 boys
Show the numbers
YearsPer 100,000 boys
1925–192937.9
1930–193438
1935–193928.3
1940–194428.8
1945–194930.4
1950–195457.3
1955–1959127.1
1960–1964185.7
1965–1969330.5
1970–1974920.9
1975–19791,785.9
1980–19843,157.1
1985–19893,413.6
1990–19942,796.5
1995–19992,631.2
2000–20042,180.5
2005–20091,458.7
2010–2014864.3
2015–2019557.3
2020–2024372.9

Source: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (OGL-Ontario); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (OGL-BC). Dark bar: the period holding the median birth year.

Brothers and middle names for Matthew

Brother names

Names that rose and fell with Matthew, from the same generation, with no clashing sounds.

  1. 1 in 277, England and Wales

  2. 1 in 290, England and Wales

  3. 1 in 818, Scotland

  4. 1 in 387, England and Wales

  5. 1 in 162, Northern Ireland

  6. 1 in 136, Northern Ireland

  7. 1 in 126, Ireland

  8. 1 in 753, England and Wales

  9. 1 in 250, Ireland

  10. 1 in 319, Northern Ireland

All 40 brother names for Matthew

Middle names

Scored for rhythm against Matthew's 2 syllables and for long, steady use.

  1. 1 in 50, Ireland

  2. 1 in 61, Northern Ireland

  3. 1 in 103, England and Wales

  4. 1 in 62, Poland

  5. 1 in 86, England and Wales

  6. 1 in 88, England and Wales

  7. 1 in 137, Scotland

  8. 1 in 224, Northern Ireland

Full-name check

Matthew Jack

Syllables 2-1Initials M.J.No sound clashes between the parts.

All 40 middle names for Matthew

Sisters for Matthew: Jessica, Leah, Rebecca, and 5 more
  1. JessicaRose and fell with Matthew · Same generation as Matthew
  2. LeahRose and fell with Matthew · Same generation as Matthew
  3. RebeccaRose and fell with Matthew · Same generation as Matthew
  4. SarahRose and fell with Matthew · As common as Matthew
  5. JoannaRose and fell with Matthew · Same generation as Matthew
  6. MollyRose and fell with Matthew · As common as Matthew · Same initial as Matthew
  7. SamanthaRose and fell with Matthew · Same generation as Matthew
  8. AbigailRose and fell with Matthew · As common as Matthew

Girls' names from the same engine, over the girls' lists of the same publishers.

Moved with Matthew

The boy names whose popularity rose and fell most like Matthew's across every region and decade we hold.

  1. Rare in France, England and Wales, Italy, and 16 more places.

  2. Rare across France, the UK, Italy, and 18 more places.

  3. Rare in all 24 places we hold figures for.

  4. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 13 more places.

  5. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 13 more places.

  6. Rare in France, England and Wales, Italy, and 15 more places.

  7. Rare across France, the UK, Poland, and 17 more places.

  8. Rare across the UK, Italy, Poland, and 14 more places.

Famous people named Matthew

Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Perry, and 6 more

From Wikidata, ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article on them. People: Wikidata (CC0). Links go to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists, else English.

Questions about Matthew

How popular is Matthew in Ontario?

Matthew ranked #41 in Ontario in 2024, given to 223 boys, about 1 in 269.

Is Matthew rising in popularity?

Not overall: it is falling in more places than it is rising. Rising in 0 of the 11 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 9.

What does Matthew mean?

Matthew means “gift of the Lord”, according to Wiktionary.

How many syllables does Matthew have?

Matthew has 2 syllables: MATH-yoo.

Every rank and count on this page comes from an official birth register. How these figures are computed.

Meanings, origins and people: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikidata (CC0).

The 42 birth registers behind these figures

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Kept names collect here.

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