Mataeo
A masculine name derived from the Hebrew name Matthew, meaning "gift of God".
Name Census estimates that about 107 living Americans carry the first name Mataeo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Mataeo today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mataeo births was 1999 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mataeo. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Mataeo with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
107
~ 1 in 3,203,312 Americans
Peak year
1999
10 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,810
Tracked since 1997
Popularity
Mataeo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mataeo from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 39 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mataeo by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Mataeo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mataeo
The name Mataeo is a Spanish variant of the Hebrew name Mattathia or Mattathyah, derived from the word "Mattath" meaning "gift of God". This name has its origins in ancient Judea and is closely associated with the Hasmonean dynasty that ruled over the Jewish kingdom from around 140 BC to 37 BC.
The earliest recorded use of the name Mataeo can be traced back to the biblical figure Mattathias the Hasmonean, a Jewish priest who sparked the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BC. This rebellion ultimately led to the establishment of an independent Jewish kingdom under the Hasmonean dynasty.
In the New Testament, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ is referred to as Matthew, which is the anglicized version of the name Mataeo. According to biblical accounts, Matthew was a tax collector before becoming a disciple of Jesus, and he is credited with authoring the Gospel of Matthew.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Mataeo or its variants. One of the most famous is Mateo Alemán (1547-1615), a Spanish novelist and author of the picaresque novel "Guzmán de Alfarache". Another prominent figure is Mateo Ricci (1552-1610), an Italian Jesuit missionary who was instrumental in introducing Western culture and Christianity to China during the late Ming Dynasty.
In the realm of art, Mateo Cerezo (1637-1666) was a Spanish painter known for his religious works and portraits. Mateo Pérez de Alesio (1547-1628) was a Spanish composer and organist during the Renaissance period, celebrated for his sacred music compositions.
Mateo Máximo Guilarte (1766-1824) was a Venezuelan military leader who played a significant role in the Venezuelan War of Independence, fighting alongside Simón Bolívar against the Spanish colonial forces.
While there have been many notable individuals throughout history bearing the name Mataeo or its variants, the name's origins can be traced back to ancient Judea and its connection to the biblical figure Mattathias, making it a name with deep religious and historical significance.
People
Mataeo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mataeo as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Mataeo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mataeo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 107 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mataeo going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 3,203,312 US residents.
Is Mataeo a common name?
We classify Mataeo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 108 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mataeo most popular?
The single biggest year for Mataeo was 1999, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mataeo is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Mataeo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mataeo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mataeo in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Mataeo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mataeo in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Mataeo can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Mataeo?
Find out how many people have the name Mataeo on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.