Matti
A Finnish masculine given name meaning "manly, brave one."
Name Census estimates that about 708 living Americans carry the first name Matti. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 89.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Matti today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Matti births was 2008 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Matti. 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 Matti with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
708
~ 1 in 484,116 Americans
Peak year
2008
34 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,970
Tracked since 1975
Census
Matti in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,124 people with the first name Matti, which placed it at #11,408 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
#11,408
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,124 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
83.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Matti
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Matti is White at 83.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Black (5.2%). 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 Matti 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 Matti at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.9% · 943
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 66
- Black or African American5.2% · 59
- Two or more races2.7% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Matti
Matti leans heavily female at 89.3% of total registrations, but 77 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Matti as a male name
- Ranked #13,479 in 2024
- 5 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2015 (7 births)
Matti as a female name
- Ranked #9,970 in 2024
- 10 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2008 (34 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Matti on both sides of the split. Of the 1,123 people counted with this name, 382 were male (34.0%) and 741 were female (66.0%).
Popularity
Matti: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Matti from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 255 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Matti 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 Matti during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mattis live
Origin
Meaning and history of Matti
The name Matti originates from the Hebrew name Mattathiah, which means "gift of God." It has its roots in the ancient Hebrew culture and can be traced back to biblical times.
The name Matti gained popularity in Finland, where it is a diminutive form of the Finnish name Matti or Mattias, derived from the Hebrew Mattathiah. It became a common name among Finnish families, particularly in the medieval and early modern periods.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Matti can be found in the Finnish epic poem "Kalevala," which dates back to the 19th century. The poem features a character named Matti, who represents a wise and resourceful individual.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Matti. One such individual was Matti Kurikka (1863-1915), a Finnish writer and poet who contributed significantly to the development of Finnish literature.
Another prominent figure was Matti Nykänen (1963-2019), a Finnish ski jumper who won multiple Olympic and World Championship medals, and is considered one of the greatest athletes in his sport.
In the field of politics, Matti Vanhanen (born 1955) served as the Prime Minister of Finland from 2003 to 2010, leading the country through a period of economic growth and development.
In the world of science, Matti Saarnio (1925-2021) was a renowned Finnish nuclear physicist who made significant contributions to the field of nuclear reactor safety and played a crucial role in the development of Finland's nuclear energy program.
Matti Salminen (1936-2016) was a Finnish actor and director who gained international recognition for his performances in various films and theater productions. He is considered one of the most influential figures in Finnish cinema and theater.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Matti throughout history, illustrating its rich cultural heritage and significance across various fields.
People
Matti + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Matti 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
Matti: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Matti?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 708 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Matti 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 484,116 US residents.
Is Matti a common name?
We classify Matti as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 723 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Matti most popular?
The single biggest year for Matti was 2008, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Matti is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Matti in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,124 people with the name Matti, or 0.37 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,408 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 Matti 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 Matti?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Matti on both sides of the split. Of the 1,123 people counted with this name, 382 were male (34.0%) and 741 were female (66.0%). 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 Matti?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Matti is White at 83.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%) and Black (5.2%). 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 Matti most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Matti in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.9% (943 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 Matti in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Matti a female name?
Yes, 89.3% of people registered as Matti 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.
Is Matti still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Matti 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 Matti 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 share the name Matti?
Want to know how many people have the name Matti? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.