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

Matten, 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 Matten surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Matten in America

Matten is the 84136th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Matten surname appeared 223 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 Matten.

We can also compare 2010 data for Matten 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 Matten

The surname Matten is of German origin, deriving from the Germanic personal name Matto or Mattheus, which is a variant of the biblical name Matthew, meaning "gift of God." The name Matten first appeared in the regions of Saxony and Franconia in the early Middle Ages.

Matten is believed to have originated as a patronymic name, indicating the son or descendant of someone named Matto or Mattheus. Early recordings of the name include Mathias Matten, who was mentioned in records from Wurzburg, Germany, in 1325, and Hans Matten, a resident of Nuremberg in the 15th century.

Historical records show that the Matten family was well-established in the city of Nuremberg during the 16th and 17th centuries. Notably, Johann Matten (1500-1572) was a prominent merchant and councilor in the city. His son, Georg Matten (1535-1603), was a respected jurist and author of legal treatises.

The Matten name also appears in various historical manuscripts and documents from other regions of Germany, such as the Bavarian town of Landshut, where a certain Michael Matten was recorded as a citizen in 1623.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Matten outside of Germany can be found in the Netherlands, where Pieter Matten (1575-1642) was a notable painter and engraver from Utrecht during the Dutch Golden Age.

Other notable individuals with the surname Matten throughout history include:

1. Friedrich Matten (1809-1885), a German painter and illustrator from Nuremberg.
2. Emilie Matten (1825-1903), a German writer and educator from Berlin.
3. Johann Matten (1856-1923), a German politician and member of the Reichstag from Bavaria.
4. Wilhelm Matten (1892-1963), a German artist and sculptor known for his expressionist works.
5. Theodor Matten (1894-1976), a German-American painter and art teacher who emigrated to the United States in the 1920s.

It's important to note that while the surname Matten originated in Germany, it has since spread to other regions and countries due to migration and various historical events.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Matten

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

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 Matten 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 Matten 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 Matten was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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