Matthieu
A masculine name of French and Hebrew origin meaning "gift of God".
Name Census estimates that about 1,024 living Americans carry the first name Matthieu. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Matthieu today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Matthieu births was 1998 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Matthieu. 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
1.0K
~ 1 in 334,721 Americans
Peak year
1998
36 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,080
Tracked since 1971
Popularity
Matthieu: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Matthieu from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 265 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Matthieu remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Matthieu 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 Matthieu during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Matthieus live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, New York, Florida recorded the most babies named Matthieu, while Texas, Florida, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 38 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Matthieu
The name Matthieu originates from the Hebrew name Matityahu, which means "gift of God". It is the French form of the Latin name Matthaeus, which comes from the Greek Maththaios, a translation of the Hebrew Matityahu. The name can be traced back to the 1st century AD and the biblical figure Matthew the Apostle and evangelist.
The name Matthieu gained popularity in France during the Middle Ages, with early recorded examples dating back to the 12th century. It was particularly common among the French nobility and aristocracy. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Matthieu de Vendôme, a 12th-century French poet and scholar.
During the Renaissance period, the name Matthieu was associated with several notable figures, including Matthieu Plantavit de la Pause (1606-1689), a French prelate and diplomat who served as Bishop of Lodève. Another prominent bearer of the name was Matthieu Molé (1584-1656), a French magistrate and statesman who served as First President of the Parlement of Paris.
In the 17th century, the French philosopher and mathematician Matthieu Laubespine de Châteauneuf (1622-1689) made significant contributions to the development of calculus and the study of curves. Matthieu Ricard (1663-1737), a French Benedictine monk and scholar, was known for his work on the history of the Benedictine order.
In more recent times, the name Matthieu has been carried by several notable figures, including Matthieu Ricard (born 1946), a French Buddhist monk, author, and photographer. Matthieu Chedid (born 1971), better known by his stage name -M-, is a French singer-songwriter and guitarist.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Matthieu, a name with a rich cultural heritage and a long-standing tradition in the French-speaking world.
People
Matthieu + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Matthieu 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
Matthieu: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Matthieu?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,024 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Matthieu 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 334,721 US residents.
Is Matthieu a common name?
We classify Matthieu as "Rare". It ranks above 90.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,045 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Matthieu most popular?
The single biggest year for Matthieu was 1998, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Matthieu is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Matthieu a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Matthieu 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.
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.