Head to head · Boys' names
Colson vs Mathias
#310 vs #312 in 2025
Colson is a whisker ahead (#310 vs #312 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Colson is holding its place on the charts, Mathias is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Mathias has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Colson and Mathias each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Colson —, Mathias #499 — Mathias higher
- 1890s: Colson —, Mathias #703 — Mathias higher
- 1900s: Colson —, Mathias #993 — Mathias higher
- 1910s: Colson —, Mathias #1143 — Mathias higher
- 1920s: Colson #4347, Mathias #1346 — Mathias higher
- 1930s: Colson #3645, Mathias #1625 — Mathias higher
- 1940s: Colson —, Mathias #2067 — Mathias higher
- 1950s: Colson —, Mathias #2144 — Mathias higher
- 1960s: Colson —, Mathias #2169 — Mathias higher
- 1970s: Colson —, Mathias #1692 — Mathias higher
- 1980s: Colson #5827, Mathias #1470 — Mathias higher
- 1990s: Colson #3591, Mathias #1446 — Mathias higher
- 2000s: Colson #1537, Mathias #925 — Mathias higher
- 2010s: Colson #988, Mathias #564 — Mathias higher
- 2020s: Colson #333, Mathias #381 — Colson higher
Mathias stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Colson took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Colson | Mathias |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #499 |
| 1890s | — | #703 |
| 1900s | — | #993 |
| 1910s | — | #1143 |
| 1920s | #4347 | #1346 |
| 1930s | #3645 | #1625 |
| 1940s | — | #2067 |
| 1950s | — | #2144 |
| 1960s | — | #2169 |
| 1970s | — | #1692 |
| 1980s | #5827 | #1470 |
| 1990s | #3591 | #1446 |
| 2000s | #1537 | #925 |
| 2010s | #988 | #564 |
| 2020s | #333 | #381 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Colson
"son of Col" — Col being a medieval short form of Nicholas
Two readings compete, and both are respectable. In one, Col is the clipped English pet form of Nicholas (the same root that gives Nicol and Nicholson), so Colson means "son of Nicholas." In the other, it stands on Cole, from Old English Cola, connected to col, "coal" — a byname for someone dark-haired or dark-complexioned. The surname record supports both lines, and medieval clerks were not in the habit of telling them apart.
Nicholas → Nicol → Col / Cole → Colson
How it traveled
Colson is an English patronymic surname, and its -son ending points to the north and east of England, where that way of forming family names took hold most firmly in the Middle Ages. It traveled to America as a family name, sitting on deeds and census pages for generations before anyone thought to put it on a birth certificate — and it appears in the given-name records from the 1920s onward, thinly at first.
Mathias
gift of Yahweh (gift of God)
From Hebrew Mattityahu, combining a root meaning gift with the divine name.
Mattityahu → Matthias → Mathias
How it traveled
The name begins as Hebrew Mattityahu, borne by priests and warriors in the later books of the Hebrew scriptures. Greek-speaking Jews shortened it to Matthias, and in that form it appears in the Acts of the Apostles, where Matthias is chosen by lot to join the eleven after Judas.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Colson
KOHL-sun
Two syllables, stress on the first. The o is long, as in coal. No real regional disagreement about it.
- Cole — The obvious everyday short form, and a fully established given name in its own right in the US — worth knowing that a Colson may simply be called Cole for life.
- Col — Informal and mostly spoken within the family; the medieval form the surname was built from in the first place.
- Colt — Heard informally among friends and teammates, though it is a separate given name elsewhere.
Mathias
muh-THY-us
That is the usual American reading. German and Scandinavian speakers say mah-TEE-ahs, and French speakers ma-TYAHSS — all three are correct for the name, so it is worth deciding which one your family will use.
- Matt — The default English short form; shared with every Matthew, so it rarely identifies a Mathias on its own.
- Matty — Informal and mostly used within families and in childhood.
- Mats — The Scandinavian clipping, long established there as an independent given name.
- Thias — A German-language short form, uncommon in English-speaking settings.
- Also Mati.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Colson if you want…
- a name holding steadyColson is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesColson is 2 syllables to Mathias's 3
- a newer arrivalColson entered the US charts in 1924
Choose Mathias if you want…
- a name on the way upup 116 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itMathias runs 3 syllables, Colson 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Matt, Matty and Mats
- a long American recordMathias was already in use when US records began in 1880
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Colson
Strengths
- Spells and sounds itself: a reader who knows Cole and knows -son gets it right on the first try.
- Carries a ready-made short form in Cole, which already stands on its own as an American given name.
- Documented as an English surname since the Middle Ages, so the name has a long paper trail behind its recent use as a first name.
To consider
- It lives in a crowded sound-neighborhood — Cole, Colton, Coleson, Carson, Colson. Expect a certain amount of gentle correction, and expect Coulson and Coleson to turn up on paperwork.
- Because it reads as a surname first, it will occasionally be taken for a last name on forms and in roll calls where names are listed surname-first.
- The wave of Colsons is very recent, so nearly everyone carrying the name right now is a child rather than an adult. That means few models for how it wears at fifty — and no accumulated associations to shake off either.
Mathias
Strengths
- Carries a meaning that is settled rather than argued over, and one parents can state in four words: gift of God.
- Recognizable in German, Spanish, Scandinavian, Hungarian and Czech, each with its own established spelling.
- Comes with ready-made short forms — Matt, Matty, Mats — none of which had to be invented.
To consider
- The spelling will need repeating. Matthias, Mattias, Matias and Mathias all circulate, and people who hear the name spoken will guess wrong roughly as often as right.
- Pronunciation is genuinely split between muh-THY-us and mah-TEE-ahs, so a Mathias may spend his life correcting one or the other — or answering to both.
- Shortened to Matt, he joins a very large crowd, since the Matthew line supplies most of them.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Colson and Mathias in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Colson and Mathias?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Colson and Mathias — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Colson or Mathias — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Colson or Mathias?
- Colson, in 2025: Colson ranked #310 with 1,099 babies; Mathias ranked #312 with 1,087 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Colson or Mathias?
- Mathias. Over the last five years Colson moved up 41 places; Mathias moved up 116 places.
- Which is the older name, Colson or Mathias?
- Colson entered the US charts in 1924; Mathias was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Mathias is the older name.
- How many people are named Colson and Mathias?
- About 9,600 people named Colson are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 14,000 people named Mathias are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Colsons or Mathiass in the classroom?
- Colson will almost certainly be the only one in school. Mathias will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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