Matas
A masculine Lithuanian name meaning "forest" or "woods".
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the first name Matas. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Matas today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Matas births was 2006 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Matas. 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 Matas with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
130
~ 1 in 2,636,572 Americans
Peak year
2006
17 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2020 SSA rank
#11,493
Tracked since 1998
Census
Matas in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 200 people with the first name Matas, which placed it at #38,397 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#38,397
National first-name rank
People counted
200
200 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
91.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Matas
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Matas is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Black (2.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Matas described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Matas at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 183
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 9
- Black or African American2.0% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 4
Popularity
Matas: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Matas 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 75 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Matas 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 Matas during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Matas' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Matas
The name Matas originates from Lithuania, where it is a diminutive form of the name Matas, derived from the Hebrew name Matthew, meaning "gift of God." The name has been in use in Lithuania for centuries and can be traced back to the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Matas was Matas Sančius, a Lithuanian nobleman who lived in the 15th century. He was a prominent figure in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and served as a diplomat and advisor to the Grand Duke.
Another notable figure with the name Matas was Matas Kosakovskis, a Lithuanian painter who lived in the 16th century. He was known for his religious paintings and frescoes, many of which can still be seen in churches and monasteries throughout Lithuania.
In the 17th century, Matas Karibautas was a Lithuanian priest and writer who published several works on religious topics. He was also a professor at the University of Vilnius and was highly respected for his knowledge and teachings.
Fast-forwarding to the 19th century, Matas Akelaitis was a Lithuanian poet and playwright who wrote in the Lithuanian language during a time when it was suppressed by the Russian Empire. His works helped to preserve and promote Lithuanian culture and language.
In the 20th century, Matas Sabonis was a Lithuanian professional basketball player who played in the Soviet Union and later in the NBA. He was born in 1964 and is considered one of the greatest Lithuanian basketball players of all time.
While the name Matas has its roots in Lithuania, it has also been used in other cultures and countries over time, though its exact origins and meanings may vary slightly. Regardless of its cultural background, the name Matas carries a sense of history, tradition, and connection to one's heritage.
People
Matas + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Matas 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
Matas: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Matas?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 130 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Matas 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 2,636,572 US residents.
Is Matas a common name?
We classify Matas as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 131 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Matas most popular?
The single biggest year for Matas was 2006, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Matas is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Matas in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 200 people with the name Matas, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,397 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Matas in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Matas?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Matas leans strongly male. 194 people counted with this name were male (97.5%), compared with 5 female bearers (2.5%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Matas?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Matas is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Black (2.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Matas most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Matas in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (183 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Matas in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Matas a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Matas 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 Matas still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Matas 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 Matas 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.
How common is the name Matas?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.