Matthew

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Matteo in IT Italy, BR Brazil, ES Spain and 2 more, Mateusz in PL Poland, NO Norway, Matthieu in FR France, BE Belgium and Mathew in IN India.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 17 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Matthew is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Hindi given name61K records spelled Matthew38 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in India, United States, United Kingdom, Nigeria

  Languages: Hindi, Urdu, Sinhala

  Also written Mathew, Mathu, Mathieu, Maithyu, Meth

• Indonesian given name26K records spelled Matthew3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Indonesia, Malaysia, United Kingdom

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written 'Matthew

• Greek given name19K records spelled Matthew5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Greece, United States, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Mathiou, Μαθιου, Μάθιου, Μαθιού

• Albanian given name10K records spelled Matthew2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Albania, United Kingdom, Canada

  Also written Mateusz

82 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Matthew is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• Matthew is a classic and enduring name of Hebrew origin, meaning 'gift of God.' It is borne by the biblical apostle and author of the first Gospel, who left his life as a tax collector to follow Jesus. The name suggests faithfulness, devotion, and the idea of a cherished gift.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• Matthew's calling is a powerful example of God's grace, demonstrating that Jesus's ministry was open to all, including social outcasts and sinners. His immediate and decisive response to leave his former life behind serves as a model of Christian discipleship and conversion.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• The name Matthew is derived from the Hebrew name 'Mattityahu' (מַתִּתְיָהוּ), meaning 'gift of Yahweh' or 'gift of God.' His other name, Levi (לֵוִי), is derived from a Hebrew verb meaning 'to join' or 'to be attached.'

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• In English, from Hebrew Mattathiah ‘gift of Jehovah’, via Latin Matthaeus/Mathaeus; first attested Mathiu, Matheus 1086 DB

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• In Irish, Hebrew name meaning 'God's present'; name of one of the Apostles.

  as a name·Irish first names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Matthew Arnoldb. 1822GBBritish poet and cultural critic (1822–1888)
• Art Carneyb. 1918USnot in their usual nameAmerican actor and comedian (1918–2003)
• Matt LeBlancb. 1967USnot in their usual nameAmerican actor
• Matthew Perryb. 1969USAmerican-Canadian actor (1969–2023)
• Matthew McConaugheyb. 1969USAmerican actor (born 1969)
• Matt Damonb. 1970USnot in their usual nameAmerican actor (born 1970)
• Matthew Lillardb. 1970USAmerican actor (born 1970)
• Matt Hardyb. 1974USnot in their usual nameAmerican professional wrestler (born 1974)
• Tim Howardb. 1979USnot in their usual nameAmerican soccer player (born 1979)
• Channing Tatumb. 1980USnot in their usual nameAmerican actor, dancer and model (born 1980)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,522 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Matthew?

We estimate roughly 1.9 million people bear Matthew (counting its spellings and scripts) across 10 countries in our records.

In which country does Matthew have the most bearers?

We estimate about 1.3 million people bear Matthew in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled matthew.

Where is Matthew most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Matthew is densest in Poland — about 1 in 101 people — even though United States holds more of our records for it.

How common is Matthew compared with other names?

In the United States, Matthew is the 40th most common given name of 3,122,706 given names recorded there.

Is Matthew a male or female name?

Matthew is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Matthew mean?

Recorded meaning: from the male personal name Matthew, from Hebrew Matityahu, literally 'gift of god'.