ninan.org

Matthew

Boys' name · Late 20th-century perennial

Living in the US
~1,540,900 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#32 among boys
Births in 2025
7,008 1,659,655 since 1880
Typical age
36 years, median

Matthew popularity over time

Matthew rank by birth year, 1880–2025Matthew ranked #116 in 1880 and #32 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #2, in 1995.#10#100#32best #2 in 199518901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

More children were named Matthew in 1983 than in any other year — 50,526 of them. It appears in the very first year SSA covers, 1880. Across the record, 70 years put Matthew in the top 100.

As of 2025 the name sits at #32, with 7,008 births that year. Over ten years the count has fallen 45%.

Babies named Matthew per yearPeaks at 50,526 births in 1983.50,526 in 1983018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Matthew?

An estimated 1,540,900 living Americans are called Matthew. That is out of 1,659,655 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Matthew?

Half of living Matthews are older than 36, half younger. Most living bearers were born in the 1980s. By the site’s era rules that makes Matthew a late 20th-century perennial name.

Your Matthew

Ages of living people named MatthewHalf of living Matthews are older than 36 and half younger.median 36020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Matthew is most common

Matthew is 2.0× as common in Rhode Island as it is nationally. New Jersey, Alaska and Connecticut follow.

Where Matthew is used more than average5 states use the name Matthew more than the national average.Alaska: 1.8× the national rateAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: 1.9× the national rateNJConnecticut: 1.7× the national rateCTRhode Island: 2.0× the national rateRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: 1.6× the national rateDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Matthew is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Rhode Island 303 2.0×
New Jersey 3,775 1.9×
Alaska 205 1.8×
Connecticut 1,091 1.7×
Delaware 227 1.6×

Matthew in England and Wales

ONS recorded 353 births named Matthew in 2025, ranking it #153. That is 28% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Matthew comes from

From earlier Matheu, from Old French Mathieu, from Latin Matthaeus, from Ancient Greek Ματθαῖος, from Aramaic מַתַּי. Compare Hebrew מַתִּתְיָהוּ. Doublet of Mattathias.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Matthew

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Matthew McConaughey American actor 1969 93
Matthew Perry American-Canadian actor 1969–2023 92
Matthew Arnold British poet and cultural critic 1822–1888 74
Matthew Broderick American actor 1962 67
Matthew Fox American actor 1966 60
Matthew Lillard American actor 1970 52
Matthew Flinders English navigator and cartographer 1774–1814 51
Matthew Spiranovic Australian association football player 1988 48
Photo credits (8)

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/matthew.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).