Matthew
Top 1000
About Matthew
Matthew was the third most popular boys' name in America throughout the 1980s and '90s, and is still one of the top boy names starting with M. The New Testament Matthew is the epitome of the fashionable classic—safe and sturdy, yet with a more engaging personality than John or William.
Matthew is the English derivative of Matthaios, the Greek form of the Hebrew Mattiyahu, composed of mattan, meaning "gift" and yah, in reference to God. The biblical Matthew was the apostle who wrote the first Gospel in the New Testament. Mateo, Matthias, Teo, Matek, and Mattia are among the many names derived from Matthew.
Matthew is so common by now, though, that parents have started to seek fresher choices, like Matthew-inspired variations Matthias and Mateo.
The name suddenly became very popular in the U.S. in the 1960s, with Matts appearing on many Western (e.g., Gunsmoke's Marshall Matt Dillon) and other TV shows. Currently there are several prominent real-life Matthews and Matts, including Broderick, McConaughey, Lauer, Damon and Dillon. Celebs who have chosen international versions for their starbabies include Ricky Martin (Matteo), Benjamin Bratt (Matteo), Colin Firth (Mateo) and Will Ferrell (Mattias).
Pronounced MATH-yu.
As of October 2026, Matthew ranked #32 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #2 in 1995, Nameberry popularity #104.
Editor's take: The name Matthew is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "gift of God".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #16 | 12,940 | 6,736.5 |
| 2015 | #15 | 12,783 | 6,669.1 |
| 2016 | #15 | 12,665 | 6,673.7 |
| 2017 | #16 | 11,730 | 6,337.3 |
| 2018 | #20 | 10,004 | 5,508.3 |
| 2019 | #23 | 9,270 | 5,166.6 |
| 2020 | #30 | 8,137 | 4,714.2 |
| 2021 | #36 | 7,479 | 4,275 |
| 2022 | #39 | 7,070 | 4,049.2 |
| 2023 | #32 | 7,221 | 4,221.4 |
| 2024 | #33 | 7,078 | 4,108.2 |
| 2025 | #32 | 7,003 | 4,099.9 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Matthew.
- Andrew
- Adam
- Daniel
- Michael
- Joshua
- Christopher
- Jacob
- David
- Nathan
- Joseph
- Anthony
- Nicholas
- Zachary
- Jonathan
- Christian
- Aaron
- Samuel
- Eric
- Luke
- Mark
Matthew on lists
Famous Matthews
- Matthew Charles "Matt" Czuchry
American actor
- Matthew "MatPat" Patrick
YouTube personality
- Saint Matthew
Apostle
- Matthew Flinders
English navigator who first identified Australia
- Matthew Calbraith Perry
U.S. Navy commodore
- Matthew Arnold
English poet
- Matthew James "Matt" Bellamy
English lead singer of band Muse
- Matthew Staton "Matt" Bomer
American actor
- Matthew Broderick
American actor
- Matthew Paige "Matt" Damon
American actor
- Matthew Chandler Fox
American actor
- (David) Matthew Macfadyen
English actor
- Matthew Ebden
Australian tennis player
- Matthew Stevens
Welsh snooker player
- Matthew Rhys (Evans)
Welsh actor
- Matthew David McConaughey
American actor
- Matthew "Matt" Phillips
Scottish professional footballer
- Matthew Langford Perry
American actor
- Matthew Paton
Scottish Covenanter executed after the Battle of Rullion Green
- Matthew Steven "Matt" LeBlanc
American actor
- Matthew David "Matt" Lewis
English actor
- Matthew Robert 'Matt' Smith
English actor, known as the 11th Doctor
- Matthew Gray Gubler
American actor, director and model
- (John) Matthew Stafford
American football player
- Matthew Brettingham
English architect
- Matthew Boulton
English businessman and partner of James Watt
- Matthew Gray Nelson
musician, son of actor/musician Ricky Nelson
- Matthew William Lawrence
American actor
- Matthew Romano
son of actor Ray Romano
- Matthew James "Matt" Shively
Jr, American actor
- Matthew "MattyB" Morris
American rapper
- Matthew Phineas
son of actress Mia Farrow
- (Cameron) Matthew Followill
musician for American band Kings of Leon
- Matthew Timmons
American actor
- (Jeffrey) Matthew Settle
American actor
- Matthew Edward Lowe
son of actor Rob Lowe
- Matthew James "Matt" Morrison
American actor
- Matthew "Da Kurlzz" St. Claire
musician of band Hollywood Undead
- Matthew "Matt" Cahill
English singer of band Kingsland Road
- Matthew Joseph "Matt" Cohen
American actor
- Matthew Kelly Sharp
American bass player and founding member of the band Weezer
- Matthew "M Shadows" Sanders
American musician, singer of Avenged Sevenfold
- Matthew "Matt" McGorry
American actor, feminist and equality activist
- Matthew Jay Povich
son of Connie Chung and Maury Povich
- Matthew Andrew Daddario
American actor
- Matthew Santoro
Canadian vlogger
- Matthew Romney
son of American politician Mitt Romney
- Matthew Abood
Australian swimmer
- Matthew "Matt" Meese
American actor and co,creator of YouTube sketch comedy show Studio C
- Matthew Goode
English actor
- Matthew "Matt" Thomas Cain
former San Francisco Giants baseball pitcher
- Matthew "Matt" Phillips
Scottish professional footballer
- Matthew Scott “Matt” Besler
American soccer player
- Matthew "Matt" Niskanen
professional hockey player
- Matthew Shear
American actor and producer
- Matthew Alejandro Mattola (b. 2011)
son of American music executive Tommy Mattola and Mexican telenovela star
- Matthew Wilder
American singer
- Matthew “Matt” Walsh
American commentator
Matthew in pop culture
- Matthew Crawley
character on TV's "Downton Abbey"
- Matthew "Matt" Dillon
character on TV's "Gunsmoke" portrayed by James Arness
- Matthew Fairchild
character in upcoming trilogy The Last Hours by Cassandra Clare
- Matthew "Matty" McKibben
character on MTV's "Awkward"
- Matthew "Matt" Murdock aka Daredevil
Marvel Comics superhero
- Matthew Williams
the personification of Canada in the manga/anime "Axis Powers: Hetalia"
- Matthew "Matt
" main character on educational animated series "Cyberchase"
- Matthew Cooper
character on TV's "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman"
- Matthew Cuthbert
character in L.M. Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables" series
- Mathew "Matt" Freeman
main character in the "Power of Five" series
- Matthew "Matt" Donovan
character in The Vampire Diaries series
- Matthew "Matt
" character in video game "Until Dawn"
- Matthew Tilpin
character in Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
- Matthew Derringer
character in the YouTube series "Most Popular Girls in School"
- Matthew "Matt" Casey
character on TV's "Chicago Fire"
- Matthew Lynch
character in book series "The Raven Cycle"
- 'Matthew And Son'
song by Cat Stevens
- Matthew "Matt" McGinnis
character in DC Universe
- Matthew Hagen
also known as Clayface, character in DC Universe
- Matthew Kidman
character in the 2004 film "The Girl Next Door"
- Matthew
character in the games Seduce Me and Seduce Me 2
- Matthew "Matt" Saracen
character in Friday Night Lights
Variations & nicknames
- MotyaRussian
- MátyásHungarian
- MatveiRussian
- MatiasSpanish
- MathiesDanish
- MatteoItalian
- MaciejPolish
- MatthaisoGreek
- MateuCatalan
- MathaScottish Gaelic
- MaitiasIrish Gaelic
- MatyiHungarian
- MatyoHungarian
- MataScottish Gaelic
- MateiBulgarian
- MatheoSpanish
- MadsDanish
- MateoSpanish
- MattäusGerman
- MatejCzech
- MatthijsDutch
- MatyásCzech
- MateuszPolish
- MathieuFrench
- MatheiuRomanian
- MatviUkrainian
- MattiaItalian
- MattiFinnish
- MatteusNorwegian
- MateusPortuguese
- MatejoSpanish
- MotkaRussian
- MatsNorwegian
- TeoSpanish