Matthew
A masculine name derived from the Hebrew name Matityahu, meaning "gift of God".
Roughly 1,549,178 people in the United States go by the first name Matthew, which ranks #33 nationally when sorted by estimated living bearers. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Matthew today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Matthew births was 1983 (50,525 babies). In terms of living bearers, it sits close to Thomas (1,548,322).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Matthew. 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 Matthew with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Matthew is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 5,575 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
1.5M
~ 1 in 221 Americans
Peak year
1983
50,525 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2024 SSA rank
#33
Tracked since 1880
Census
Matthew in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,315,148 people with the first name Matthew, which placed it at #15 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
#15
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3M
1,315,148 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
435.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
81.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Matthew
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Matthew is White at 81.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.9%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Matthew 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 Matthew at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.1% · 1,066,314
- Hispanic or Latino9.9% · 130,112
- Two or more races3.3% · 43,484
- Black or African American3.0% · 39,996
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 29,049
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 6,193
Gender
Gender distribution for Matthew
Out of the 1,652,565 babies given the name Matthew since 1880, 99.7% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Matthew as a male name
- Ranked #33 in 2024
- 7,078 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1983 (50,208 births)
Matthew as a female name
- Ranked #11,736 in 2024
- 8 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1983 (317 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Matthew appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,315,151 people counted with this name, 99.9% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Matthew: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Matthew from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 461,520 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Matthew 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 Matthew during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 1,068 | 0 | 1,068 |
| 1890s | 1,132 | 0 | 1,132 |
| 1900s | 1,188 | 0 | 1,188 |
| 1910s | 6,228 | 5 | 6,233 |
| 1920s | 8,566 | 21 | 8,587 |
| 1930s | 6,255 | 13 | 6,268 |
| 1940s | 8,760 | 15 | 8,775 |
| 1950s | 35,800 | 64 | 35,864 |
| 1960s | 105,943 | 339 | 106,282 |
| 1970s | 277,752 | 1,232 | 278,984 |
| 1980s | 458,953 | 2,567 | 461,520 |
| 1990s | 351,673 | 735 | 352,408 |
| 2000s | 221,620 | 389 | 222,009 |
| 2010s | 125,067 | 155 | 125,222 |
| 2020s | 36,985 | 40 | 37,025 |
Geography
Where Matthews live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Matthew, while Wyoming, Alaska, Vermont recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 32,264 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Matthew
The name Matthew is derived from the Hebrew name Mattityahu, which means "gift of Yahweh" or "gift from God". It is a biblical name that has its roots in ancient Judaic culture and tradition.
The earliest known use of the name Matthew can be traced back to the New Testament of the Bible, where it was the name given to one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. Matthew, also known as Levi, was a tax collector before becoming a disciple and is traditionally regarded as the author of the Gospel of Matthew.
Throughout the centuries, the name Matthew has been popular among Christians, particularly in Western cultures. It was one of the most common names given to boys during the Middle Ages in Europe, and its popularity continued to rise during the Renaissance and the Reformation periods.
One of the most notable historical figures named Matthew was Matthew Paris, an English Benedictine monk and chronicler who lived from around 1200 to 1259. He was known for his detailed and influential chronicles of English history, which provided valuable insights into the events and personalities of his time.
Another significant figure named Matthew was Matthew Boulton, an English manufacturer and entrepreneur who lived from 1728 to 1809. He played a crucial role in the Industrial Revolution, partnering with James Watt to develop and manufacture steam engines, which revolutionized industry and transportation.
In the realm of literature, Matthew Arnold, an English poet and cultural critic born in 1822, was a prominent figure. His works, including "Dover Beach" and "The Study of Poetry," had a profound impact on Victorian literature and literary criticism.
Matthew Broderick, an American actor born in 1962, is also a well-known bearer of the name. He rose to fame in the 1980s with his roles in films such as "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "War Games," and has since enjoyed a successful career in both film and theater.
Lastly, Matthew McConaughey, born in 1969, is a renowned American actor who has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award for his performance in the film "Dallas Buyers Club". He has become a household name and has been celebrated for his versatility and charm on screen.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Matthew
People
Matthew + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Matthew 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
Matthew: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Matthew?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,549,178 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Matthew 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 221 US residents.
Is Matthew a common name?
We classify Matthew as "Very Common". It ranks above 100% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,652,565 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Matthew most popular?
The single biggest year for Matthew was 1983, when 50,525 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Matthew is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Matthew in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,315,148 people with the name Matthew, or 435.44 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15 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 Matthew 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 Matthew?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Matthew appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,315,151 people counted with this name, 99.9% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Matthew?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Matthew is White at 81.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.9%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Matthew most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Matthew in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.1% (1,066,314 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 Matthew in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Matthew a male name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Matthew 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 Matthew still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Matthew 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 Matthew 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 many people have Matthew as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.