Matthew

Hebrew

"gift of God"

Matthew Origin and Meaning

The name Matthew is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "gift of God".

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).

Matthew Rank in US Top 1000

# 32 in the US

Matthew Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 122 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Matthew

• 32 US 2023
• 122 Nameberry 2025
• 69 Canada 2023
• 45 Future 2035
• 137 England 2023
• 74 Scotland 2024
• 42 Ireland 2024
• 80 Australia 2021
• 99 New Zealand 2023

20 Names Similar to Matthew

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Matthew.

• Adam
• Andrew
• Michael
• Daniel
• Joshua
• Christopher
• David
• Nathan
• Jacob
• Joseph
• Nicholas
• Anthony
• Zachary
• Jonathan
• Christian
• Aaron
• Samuel
• Mark
• John
• Eric

Famous People Named Matthew

• 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

The name 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

International Variations of the name Matthew

• Motya Russian
• Mátyás Hungarian
• Matvei Russian
• Matias Spanish
• Mathies Danish
• Matteo Italian
• Maciej Polish
• Matthaiso Greek
• Mateu Catalan
• Matha Scottish Gaelic
• Maitias Irish Gaelic
• Matyi Hungarian
• Matyo Hungarian
• Mata Scottish Gaelic
• Matei Bulgarian
• Matheo Spanish
• Mads Danish
• Mateo Spanish
• Mattäus German
• Matej Czech
• Matthijs Dutch
• Matyás Czech
• Mateusz Polish
• Mathieu French
• Matheiu Romanian
• Matvi Ukrainian
• Mattia Italian
• Matti Finnish
• Matteus Norwegian
• Mateus Portuguese
• Matejo Spanish
• Motka Russian
• Mats Norwegian
• Teo Spanish