Matylda
Variant of the feminine name Matilda, meaning "mighty in battle".
Name Census estimates that about 145 living Americans carry the first name Matylda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Matylda today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Matylda births was 2019 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Matylda. 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 Matylda with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
145
~ 1 in 2,363,823 Americans
Peak year
2019
14 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2023 SSA rank
#11,816
Tracked since 1919
Popularity
Matylda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Matylda from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 88 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Matylda 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 Matylda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Matyldas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Matylda
The name Matylda has its origins in the Germanic languages, deriving from the Old High German name Mahthild, which was a compound of the elements maht, meaning "might" or "strength," and hild, meaning "battle." The name thus carried the meaning of "mighty in battle" or "strong warrior."
In the Middle Ages, the name Matylda gained popularity across various European regions, particularly in England, France, and Germany. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the 10th century, when it was borne by Matilda of Ringelheim (892-968), a German noblewoman and the wife of King Henry I of Germany.
Matylda became a prominent name among royalty and nobility during the medieval period. Notable bearers include Matilda of Flanders (1031-1083), the wife of William the Conqueror and Queen of England; Matilda of Boulogne (c. 1105-1152), the Queen of England and the first female ruler to claim the English throne in her own right; and Matilda of Tuscany (1046-1115), a influential Italian margravine and a major supporter of the Gregorian Reforms.
In the 12th century, the name gained further prominence with Matilda of England (1102-1167), the daughter of King Henry I of England and the claimant to the English throne during the Anarchy, a civil war that lasted from 1135 to 1153.
Beyond the realm of royalty, the name Matylda has been borne by several notable figures throughout history. One such figure is Saint Matilda of Hackeborn (1241-1298), a German mystic and Cistercian nun who is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. Another notable bearer is Matilda Joslyn Gage (1826-1898), an American feminist, abolitionist, and a prominent figure in the women's suffrage movement.
In literature, the name Matylda has been immortalized in works such as Mary Shelley's novel "Matilda" (1819), which features the titular character Matilda, a young woman with extraordinary intellectual abilities. The name has also been used by authors like Roald Dahl in his beloved children's book "Matilda" (1988), which features the precocious and gifted protagonist Matilda Wormwood.
People
Matylda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Matylda 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
Matylda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Matylda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 145 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Matylda 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 2,363,823 US residents.
Is Matylda a common name?
We classify Matylda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 156 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Matylda most popular?
The single biggest year for Matylda was 2019, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Matylda is about 12 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 Matylda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Matylda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Matylda 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 Matylda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Matylda 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 Matylda 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 common is the name Matylda?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.