Matthey
Matthey is a masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "gift of God".
Name Census estimates that about 14 living Americans carry the first name Matthey. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Matthey today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Matthey births was 1984 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Matthey. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Matthey. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
14
~ 1 in 24,482,453 Americans
Peak year
1984
9 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
1989 SSA rank
#7,585
Tracked since 1984
Popularity
Matthey: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Matthey 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 Matthey during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 15 | 0 | 15 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Matthey
The name Matthey is derived from the Hebrew name Mattityahu, which means "gift of God." It originated in ancient Judea, a region in the Middle East that is now part of modern-day Israel and the Palestinian territories. The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the 5th century BCE, where it appeared in the biblical Book of Ezra.
In the New Testament, Matthey is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name, and it was borne by one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. Saint Matthew, also known as Levi, was a tax collector who became a follower of Jesus and is credited with authoring the first Gospel in the Bible.
During the Middle Ages, the name gained popularity throughout Europe, particularly in Germany and England. One notable figure from this period was Matthew Paris, an English Benedictine monk and chronicler who lived from around 1200 to 1259 CE. His chronicles are considered a valuable source of information about English history during the 13th century.
In the Renaissance period, the Italian painter Matteo di Giovanni, also known as Matthey of Siena, was a prominent artist who lived from around 1430 to 1495 CE. He is renowned for his religious paintings and frescoes, many of which can still be seen in churches and museums in Italy.
Another notable figure with the name Matthey was the French mathematician and philosopher René Descartes, who lived from 1596 to 1650 CE. His given name was René, but he was also known as Matthey, a French form of the name. Descartes is widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers of the modern era, and his philosophical works, such as "Meditations on First Philosophy," had a profound impact on Western thought.
In more recent times, the American author and playwright Matthey Broderick, born in 1962, has achieved fame for his roles in films such as "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "The Producers." He has also had a successful career on Broadway, earning two Tony Awards for his performances in plays like "Brighton Beach Memoirs" and "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying."
People
Matthey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Matthey 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
Matthey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Matthey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 14 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Matthey 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 24,482,453 US residents.
Is Matthey a common name?
We classify Matthey as "Very Rare". It ranks above 34% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 15 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Matthey most popular?
The single biggest year for Matthey was 1984, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Matthey is about 41 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 Matthey in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Matthey a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Matthey 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 Matthey still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Matthey 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 Matthey 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 Matthey?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.