Matthaios
A masculine given name of Greek origin meaning "gift from God".
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Matthaios. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Matthaios today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Matthaios births was 2020 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Matthaios. 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 Matthaios with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Matthaios. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
2020
6 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2021 SSA rank
#13,383
Tracked since 2020
Popularity
Matthaios: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Matthaios 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 Matthaios during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 11 | 0 | 11 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Matthaios
Matthaios is a masculine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Hebrew name Mattityahu, which means "gift of God." The name first appeared in ancient texts and religious scriptures in the 1st century AD.
The name Matthaios is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name Mattityahu, which was borne by several figures in the Old Testament, including a Levite priest and one of the ancestors of Jesus Christ. The most notable bearer of this name was the apostle Matthew, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, who was originally a tax collector before becoming a follower of Christ.
The name Matthaios gained popularity in the early Christian era, particularly in regions with a strong Greek and Byzantine cultural influence, such as the Byzantine Empire, Greece, and parts of the Balkans. It was often used to honor the apostle Matthew and his role in spreading Christianity.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Matthaios was Matthaios the Hermit, a 4th-century Christian ascetic and monk who lived in the desert of Scetis in Egypt. Another notable figure was Matthaios Blastares, a 14th-century Byzantine canonist and theologian who wrote influential works on canon law.
Throughout history, several other notable individuals have borne the name Matthaios, including:
1. Matthaios Kantakouzenos (c. 1325-1383), a Byzantine prince and military commander during the Palaiologan era.
2. Matthaios Kamariotis (c. 1500-1574), a Greek Renaissance scholar and philosopher who taught at the Patriarchal School in Constantinople.
3. Matthaios Sendreios (1585-1635), a Greek Orthodox monk and theologian who played a significant role in the Counter-Reformation in Greece.
4. Matthaios Tsigardas (1837-1913), a Greek politician and prime minister of Greece in 1886.
5. Matthaios Kallidis (1885-1917), a Greek poet and writer who was part of the Demotic Greek literary movement.
The name Matthaios has continued to be popular in Greece and among Greek communities around the world, with various spellings and variations, such as Matthaio, Matthaiu, and Mattheos.
People
Matthaios + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Matthaios 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
Matthaios: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Matthaios?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Matthaios 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Matthaios a common name?
We classify Matthaios as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Matthaios most popular?
The single biggest year for Matthaios was 2020, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Matthaios is about 6 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 Matthaios in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Matthaios a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Matthaios 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 Matthaios still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Matthaios 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 Matthaios 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 have the name Matthaios?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.