Find out how popular the last name Mateus is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Mateus.

Mateus, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Mateus surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mateus in America

Mateus is the 27144th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mateus surname appeared 892 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Mateus.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mateus to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Mateus

The surname Mateus originated in Portugal. It is derived from the biblical name Matthew, which means "gift of God" in Hebrew. The earliest known record of the name dates back to the 12th century in the region of Minho, in northern Portugal.

In the 13th century, the name Mateus appeared in the Inquirições de D. Afonso III, a medieval census record of landowners and their properties in Portugal. One notable individual from this era was Martim Mateus, a nobleman and landowner in the region of Beira Baixa.

During the 15th century, the name Mateus was found in various municipal records and historical documents throughout Portugal. One prominent figure was João Mateus, a merchant from the city of Porto who traded with England and the Netherlands.

In the 16th century, Mateus became a more widespread surname, particularly in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. Diogo Mateus, born in 1520, was a renowned navigador (navigator) who participated in several maritime expeditions to the East Indies.

The 17th century saw the birth of Luís Mateus de Abreu (1597-1670), a Jesuit priest and missionary who spent many years in Brazil, working to convert and educate the indigenous population.

In more recent history, the name Mateus has been associated with several influential figures. José Mateus (1770-1821) was a prominent military officer during the Peninsular War, fighting against the French invasion of Portugal. António Mateus (1892-1971) was a celebrated poet and writer, known for his works celebrating the beauty of the Alentejo region.

The surname Mateus has also been closely tied to the wine industry in Portugal. The Mateus family, based in the Douro Valley, has been producing the famous Mateus Rosé wine since the 19th century, which has gained international recognition and popularity.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mateus

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Mateus.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Mateus was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Mateus has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Mateus was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Mateus, please contact us.

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