Matilda

German

"battle-mighty"

Matilda Origin and Meaning

The name Matilda is a girl's name of German origin meaning "battle-mighty".

Matilda is a sweet vintage name that has been gently climbing the popularity list for the past 15 years, after a half-century slumber. The spunky children's book heroine Matilda is one factor in its rise, along with others of its class like Eloise and Caspian.

The comeback of Matilda, one of the most stylish girls' names starting with M, has been prompted by a boomlet of starbaby Matildas, beginning with chef Gordon Ramsey's in 2002 and Moon Unit Zappa's two years later. But the renaissance of this name of the charming Roald Dahl heroine was assured when Michelle Williams and the late Heath Ledger chose Matilda for their daughter.

Matilda was introduced to the English-speaking world by the eleventh century Matilda of Flanders, queen of William the Conqueror, then used for his granddaughter, known as Maud. In literature, Matilda appeared in Dickens's Nicholas Nickleby. Trivia tidbit: The Matilda in the Australian song 'Waltzing Matilda' refers not to a person but to the knapsacks that swing, or waltz, on the backs of itinerant laborers as they walk along.

Highly popular in England and Australia, Matilda has a choice of great nicknames: Tillie for the bold, Mattie for the shy, Tilda for the slightly more eccentric, such as Tilda Swinton, born Katherine Matilda.

Molly Ringwald used the spelling Mathilda for her daughter.

Matilda Rank in US Top 1000

# 437 in the US

Matilda Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 45 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Matilda

• 437 US 2023
• 45 Nameberry 2025
• 311 Future 2028
• 30 England 2023
• 149 Scotland 2024
• 98 Ireland 2016
• 8 Australia 2024
• 31 New Zealand 2024
• 27 Germany 2017
• 96 Sweden 2020
• 28 Finland 2023
• 162 Switzerland 2023
• 43 Chile 2021

20 Names Similar to Matilda

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

• Beatrice
• Florence
• Mabel
• Josephine
• Edith
• Penelope
• Harriet
• Margot
• Ada
• Frances
• Louisa
• Clementine
• Esther
• Louise
• Phoebe
• Beatrix
• Flora
• Imogen
• Jane
• June

Famous People Named Matilda

• Saint Matilda of Ringelheim Queen consort of Henry the Fowler of Germany
• Matilda of Flanders Queen consort of William the Conqueror
• Matilda of Scotland Queen consort of Henry I of England
• Matilda Holy Roman Empress consort of Henry V; daughter of Henry I and Matilda of Scotland; claimant to the English throne
• Matilda of Boulogne Queen consort of Stephen of England
• Matilda of Savoy Queen consort of Afonso Henriques of Portugal
• Matilda of Holstein Queen consort of Abel of Denmark
• Matilda of England Duchess of Saxony and of Bavaria; daughter of Henry II
• Matilda of Tuscany Italian feudal ruler and military leader
• Matilda FitzRoy several illegitimate daughters of Henry I of England
• Matilda Electa Joslyn Gage American suffragist
• Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz Italian model and actress
• Matilda Anne Mackarness English novelist
• Matilda Agnes Heron American stage actress
• Mary Matilda Betham English diarist and painter
• Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones American operatic soprano
• Matilda Sturridge English actress; sister of actor Tom Sturridge
• Matilda Mecini Miss Albania 2008
• Matilda Coxe Stevenson American ethnologist and author
• Matilda Moldenhauer Brooks American biologist who studied carbon monoxide
• Matilda Lowther British model
• Matilda "Tilly" Keeper English actress
• Matilda Mary "Tilly" Devine English,Australian gangster and folk figure
• Matilda Emily "Tilly" Bagshawe English novelist
• Matilda Shapland English actress
• Katherine Matilda "Tilda" Swinton Anglo,Scottish actress
• Matilda Brown Australian actress; daughter of actress Rachel Ward
• Matilda Kerwin (b. 1993) daughter of actor Brian Kerwin
• Matilda Violet Roche (b. 1998) daughter of actress Nell Campbell and Eamonn Roche
• Matilda "Tilly" Ramsay (b. 2001) daughter of TV chef Gordon Ramsay
• Matilda Cole (b. 2002) daughter of actress Kate Isitt and director Nigel Cole
• Matilda Louise Henricks (b. 2002) daughter of singer Zia McCabe of The Dandy Warhols and Travis Henricks
• Matilda Rose Ledger (b. 2005) daughter of actors Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams
• Matilda Martha Thykier (b. 2006) daughter of TV presenter Claudia Winkleman and Kris Thykier
• Matilda Clutterbuck daughter of actor Andrew Lincoln
• Matilda Lily Nora Darling (b. 2008) daughter of actress Kaye Wragg and Jamie Darling
• Matilda Kewell (b. 2008) daughter of actress Sheree Murphy and footballer Harry Kewell
• Matilda Bethany Sidwell (b. 2009) daughter of actor Aaron Sidwell
• Matilda Belle Pegg (b. 2009) daughter of actor Simon Pegg
• Matilda Francis (b. 2009) daughter of actor/comedian Leigh Francis
• Matilda Beau Albrighton (b. 2012) daughter of footballer Marc Albrighton
• Matilda Smith (b. 2013) daughter of rugby player Cameron Smith
• Matilda Vettel (b. 2015) daughter of racing driver Sebastian Vettel
• Matilda Jessica Sinclair (b. 2015) daughter of actress Helen Flanagan and footballer Scott Sinclair
• Matilda Joanne Adams (b. 2016) daughter of TV presenter Amelia Adams
• Matilda (b. 2018) daughter of supermodel David Gandy

The name Matilda in Pop Culture

• Matilda Wormwood main character in Roald Dahl's "Matilda"
• Matilda a house robot on TV's "Robot Wars"
• Matilda Santiago character in movie "Elysium"
• Matilda Harriet Jane "Mattie" Hunter character on Australian soap "Home and Away"
• Matilda "Tilda" Price Browdie character in Dickens' "Nicholas Nickleby"
• Matilda character in "A Waltz for Matilda" by Jackie French
• Matilda "Mattie" Cook character in Laurie Halse Anderson's "Fever 1793""
• Matilda character in British comic strip "Dennis & Gnasher"
• Matilda Angelina Araminta Phelps Tom Sawyer's baby cousin in Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• Matilda "Miss Matty" Jenkys character on TV's Cranford
• Matilda a character in Horace Walpole's "The Castle of Otranto"
• Matilda "Mattie" Ashby character on American soap "The Young and the Restless"
• Matilda "Tillie" Binks character in film "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"
• Matilda "Matty" Webber character on TV's "MacGyver"
• The Matildas Australian Women's National Football (Soccer) Team
• "Matilda " 1978 comedy about a boxing kangaroo
• "Matilda " song by Harry Belafonte
• "Matilda " song by British band Alt,J
• "Matilda " song by British band Little Comets
• "Waltzing Matilda " Australian popular song
• Matilda McDuck aunt of Donald Duck

International Variations of the name Matilda

• Matelda Italian
• Mala Czech
• Matusha Spanish
• Tylda Czech
• Tila Czech
• Mati Spanish
• Tilda Spanish
• Mafalda Italian
• Matilde Spanish
• Mathilde French
• Mette German
• Matylda Czech
• Mechtilde German
• Macia Czech