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

Matthew, 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 Matthew surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Matthew in America

Matthew is the 5408th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Matthew surname appeared 6,436 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Matthew.

We can also compare 2010 data for Matthew 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 Matthew

The surname MATTHEW originated from the medieval English given name Mathew, itself from the Hebrew name Mattityahu, meaning "gift of Yahweh". It traces back to the New Testament times when Matthew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. The surname came into use in Britain after the Norman Conquest of 1066.

In England, the earliest recorded examples of the surname MATTHEW are found in the 13th century. One of the earliest bearers was Richard Mathew who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Berkshire in 1195. The Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire from 1273 recorded William Matheu and Walter Matheu.

The MATTHEW surname has its roots in various parts of England, including Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Wiltshire. It is derived from the place name Mathon in Worcestershire, which was recorded as Mathon in the Domesday Book of 1086.

Notable historical figures with the surname MATTHEW include Sir Toby Matthew (1577-1655), an English courtier and writer, and Sir John Matthew (1535-1623), an English judge and politician. William Matthew (1490-1551) was an English Protestant reformer and Bishop of Bath and Wells.

In Scotland, the MATTHEW surname is associated with the Clan Matheson, which traces its origins to the Gaelic name MacMhathain, meaning "son of the bear". Kenneth Matheson (1846-1920) was a Scottish businessman and philanthropist.

The MATTHEW surname also has a presence in Ireland, where it is an anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic name Ó Máthúna. Father Theobald Matthew (1790-1856) was an Irish Catholic priest and a famous promoter of temperance societies.

As the MATTHEW surname spread across the world, other notable bearers included Gilbert Mathews (1628-1805), an American jurist and politician, and Stanley Mathews (1824-1889), an American politician and jurist who served as a United States Senator and an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Matthew

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

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

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

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