2000
#7,255
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,240
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.57
Rare Last name
Matt
Derived from the Hebrew name "Matityahu," meaning "gift of Yahweh," or from the English surname "Matthew."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,508 Americans carry the last name Matt. That puts it at #8,076 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.32 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 76,032 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Matt surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Matt with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.5K
1 in 76,032
Census rank
#8,076
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,931 bearers of the surname Matt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.32 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8076th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Matt, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.5%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (8.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Matt
The surname Matt is believed to have originated in Germany, where it first appeared in the 12th century. It is thought to be derived from the Germanic personal name Matthias or Matthew, which means "gift of God." This name was popularized by the biblical apostle Matthew.
In its earliest recorded forms, the surname was spelled Matth, Matte, or Matto. It was initially found in the northern German regions of Mecklenburg and Pomerania, as well as in parts of modern-day Poland and the Czech Republic. The name may have been adopted by families living in these areas who had ancestors named Matthew or Matthias.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Matt is found in the Codex Diplomaticus Brandenburgensis, a collection of historical documents from the former Margraviate of Brandenburg, dating back to the 13th century. This document mentions a certain "Henricus Matt" from the town of Prenzlau in the year 1281.
Another notable early bearer of the surname was Johann Matt, a German Protestant reformer and theologian who lived from 1492 to 1551. He was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation and served as a minister in the city of Wittenberg, where he was a close associate of Martin Luther.
In the 16th century, the surname also appeared in various records from the Duchy of Bavaria, indicating its spread across different regions of Germany. For example, a certain Christoph Matt is mentioned in the records of the city of Augsburg in 1568.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname Matt was also found in Switzerland, particularly in the canton of Zurich. One notable Swiss bearer of the name was Hans Rudolf Matt, a politician and diplomat who lived from 1663 to 1719. He served as the mayor of Zurich and represented the city in negotiations with foreign powers.
In the 19th century, the surname Matt began to appear in broader parts of Europe, likely due to increased migration and mobility. For instance, the Polish-German composer and pianist Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński, who lived from 1807 to 1867, was born with the surname Matt, which was later polonized to Dobrzyński.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Matt
Among Census respondents with the surname Matt, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.5%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (8.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Matt bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Matt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.5% · 3,006
- American Indian and Alaska Native8.6% · 337
- Two or more races4.4% · 174
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 172
- Black or African American4.3% · 168
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 74
Timeline
Historical Census data for Matt
Matt appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#7,658
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,337
+97 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 1.47
Rank movement Down 403 places
2020
#8,076
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,931
-406 bearers (-9.4%)
Per 100,000 1.32
Rank movement Down 418 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,255 | 4,240 | 1.57 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,658 | 4,337 | 1.47 | +97 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 403 places |
| 2020 | #8,076 | 3,931 | 1.32 | -406 bearers (-9.4%) | Down 418 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Matt surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #7,658 | #8,076 | -5.5% |
| Count | 4,337 | 3,931 | -9.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.47 | 1.32 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Matt bearers went from 4,337 to 3,931 (-9.4% change). The surname moved down 418 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,658 to #8,076.
FAQ
Matt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Matt?
Name Census estimates that about 4,508 living Americans carry the surname Matt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 76,032 residents.
How common is Matt?
Matt ranks #8,076 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.32 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,931 people with the surname Matt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,508), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.32 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.32 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Matt.
Has Matt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Matt went from 4,337 recorded bearers to 3,931. That is a decrease of 406 (-9.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,658 to #8,076.
What does the Census say about the background of Matt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Matt, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.5%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (8.6%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Matt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.5% (3,006 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Matt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.5%), American Indian/Alaska Native (8.6%), Two or More Races (4.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Matt (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Matt mean?
Derived from the Hebrew name "Matityahu," meaning "gift of Yahweh," or from the English surname "Matthew." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Matt (1.32 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Matt?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.