Mathilde
A feminine name of Germanic origin meaning "mighty in battle".
Name Census estimates that about 669 living Americans carry the first name Mathilde. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Mathilde today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mathilde births was 1894 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mathilde. 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.
People living today
669
~ 1 in 512,338 Americans
Peak year
1894
32 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,806
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Mathilde: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mathilde from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1890s, with 253 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1890s peak, Mathilde remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mathilde 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 Mathilde during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mathildes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Louisiana, New York, California recorded the most babies named Mathilde, while Massachusetts, Texas, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 38 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mathilde
Mathilde is a feminine given name of Germanic origin, derived from the Old High German name Mahthilda. It is composed of two elements: "maht" meaning "might" or "strength," and "hildi" meaning "battle." The name can be traced back to the 7th century and was initially popular among the Frankish nobility.
The earliest known record of the name Mathilde can be found in the chronicles of the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled the Franks from the 5th to the 8th century. One of the most notable figures bearing this name was Mathilde of Saxony (892-968), the wife of King Henry I of Germany and mother of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor.
During the Middle Ages, the name Mathilde gained widespread popularity across Europe, particularly in France, Germany, and England. It was often associated with royalty and nobility. One of the most famous Mathildes was Mathilde of Flanders (1031-1083), the wife of William the Conqueror and Queen of England.
In the 12th century, the name Mathilde was borne by Mathilde of Boulogne (1105-1152), Countess of Boulogne and Queen of England as the wife of King Stephen. Another notable Mathilde was Mathilde of Tuscany (1046-1115), a powerful Italian margravine who played a significant role in the Investiture Controversy between the Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy.
The name Mathilde continued to be popular throughout the centuries, with notable bearers including Mathilde of England (1156-1189), the eldest daughter of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Mathilde of Savoy (1251-1322), the wife of John I, Count of Holland and Hainaut.
Other famous Mathildes include Mathilde of Bavaria (1662-1738), a Dauphine of France and the mother of Louis XV; Mathilde Wesendonck (1828-1902), a German poet and close friend of composer Richard Wagner; and Mathilde Kschessinska (1872-1971), a renowned Russian prima ballerina and mistress of Tsar Nicholas II.
People
Mathilde + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mathilde 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
Mathilde: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mathilde?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 669 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mathilde 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 512,338 US residents.
Is Mathilde a common name?
We classify Mathilde as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,772 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mathilde most popular?
The single biggest year for Mathilde was 1894, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mathilde is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Mathilde a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mathilde in the SSA data are female. 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.
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.