Head to head · Boys' names
Elijah vs Mateo
#7 vs #8 in 2025
Elijah is a whisker ahead (#7 vs #8 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Elijah is stepping back from its peak, Mateo is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Mateo has the edge.
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Which one would you pick?
1 parent has voted — the split shows after you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Elijah leads 5 measures of 6; Mateo leads 1.
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: Elijah #159, Mateo — — Elijah higher
- 1890s: Elijah #201, Mateo — — Elijah higher
- 1900s: Elijah #228, Mateo #1205 — Elijah higher
- 1910s: Elijah #320, Mateo #2234 — Elijah higher
- 1920s: Elijah #353, Mateo #2126 — Elijah higher
- 1930s: Elijah #381, Mateo #2287 — Elijah higher
- 1940s: Elijah #403, Mateo #2272 — Elijah higher
- 1950s: Elijah #483, Mateo #2314 — Elijah higher
- 1960s: Elijah #626, Mateo #2246 — Elijah higher
- 1970s: Elijah #464, Mateo #1776 — Elijah higher
- 1980s: Elijah #284, Mateo #1771 — Elijah higher
- 1990s: Elijah #135, Mateo #1036 — Elijah higher
- 2000s: Elijah #34, Mateo #313 — Elijah higher
- 2010s: Elijah #11, Mateo #99 — Elijah higher
- 2020s: Elijah #6, Mateo #11 — Elijah higher
Elijah stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Elijah | Mateo |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #159 | — |
| 1890s | #201 | — |
| 1900s | #228 | #1205 |
| 1910s | #320 | #2234 |
| 1920s | #353 | #2126 |
| 1930s | #381 | #2287 |
| 1940s | #403 | #2272 |
| 1950s | #483 | #2314 |
| 1960s | #626 | #2246 |
| 1970s | #464 | #1776 |
| 1980s | #284 | #1771 |
| 1990s | #135 | #1036 |
| 2000s | #34 | #313 |
| 2010s | #11 | #99 |
| 2020s | #6 | #11 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Elijah
- England & Wales#23
- Canada#33
- Scotland#59
Mateo
- Canada#52
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Elijah
"My God is Yahweh" — Hebrew Eliyahu
Built from El, "God", and the divine name Yahweh; the sense is a declaration of allegiance rather than a description.
Eliyahu → Elias → Elijah
How it traveled
The name is Hebrew, Eliyahu, and belongs to the prophet whose deeds fill several chapters of the Books of Kings, set in the northern kingdom of Israel in the ninth century BC. When the Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek, and later into Latin, the name came through as Elias — the form that reached most of Europe and still stands in Spanish, German, Greek and Portuguese.
Mateo
Gift of God
From Hebrew Mattityahu, combining a word for gift with the divine name Yah.
Mattityahu → Matthaios → Matthaeus → Mateo
How it traveled
The name begins as Hebrew Mattityahu, borne by the tax collector who became one of the twelve apostles and whose name was attached to the first gospel. Greek writers rendered it Matthaios, Latin made it Matthaeus, and from there it spread with the Church across Europe, shedding syllables in each language it entered — Matthew in English, Matteo in Italian, Mateus in Portuguese, Mateo in Spanish.
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
Elijah
ih-LY-juh
Stress on the second syllable. The j is an English j sound; the European cousin Elias is said EE-lee-ahs or eh-LEE-as instead, so Spanish- and German-speaking relatives may reach for that shape first.
- Eli — By far the most used short form, and a long-established given name in its own right — many Elis were never Elijahs.
- Lijah — Informal and family-level, clipped from the back half of the name.
- Lige — An older American short form, common in nineteenth-century records and rarely heard in new use.
- E — Initial-only, the kind of thing that turns up among friends and teammates rather than on paperwork.
Mateo
mah-TAY-oh
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. Some English speakers reduce the first vowel to muh-TAY-oh; both are heard and neither causes confusion.
- Teo — Common informal short form; also given on its own, where it usually comes from Teodoro or Teo directly.
- Mati — Informal, widespread in Spanish-speaking families; also serves Matías, so it can be shared between the two.
- Matt — The English short form, used when the name sits in an English-speaking setting; more often heard from Matthew.
- Mateíto — Spanish affectionate diminutive, used within families rather than in public or formal contexts.
Who has carried each name
Elijah
Elijah Wood (b. 1981) — The Lord of the Rings' Frodo
Elijah Cummings (b. 1951) — Longtime congressman and civil rights champion
Mateo
Mateo Kovačić (b. 1994) — Champions League-winning midfielder
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Elijah if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsElijah is stepping back from its peak
- a name that charts abroad tooElijah is on the national lists of England & Wales, Canada and Scotland
- a long American recordElijah was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Mateo if you want…
- a name on the way upup 12 places on the charts in five years
- a newer arrivalMateo entered the US charts in 1904
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
Elijah
Strengths
- Eli is a ready-made short form with centuries behind it, and it stands alone as a full given name if he prefers it.
- One dominant spelling in English, widely recognized on sight, with no competing variant fighting it.
- Documented without a break for roughly three thousand years, from the Books of Kings to this year's classrooms.
To consider
- This is a name he will share. In a school of any size there will likely be another Elijah, and more than one Eli, since Eli arrives from other names too.
- Elisha, Elias and Elijah are three different names that sound close and get swapped in speech and on forms. Expect occasional correcting.
- The biblical tie is strong and unmistakable — a pleasure for some families, more weight than others want on a name.
Mateo
Strengths
- Recognizable in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and English through its close cousins, so it travels between languages without translation.
- Spelled the way it sounds in both Spanish and English — a reader who has never seen it can usually say it.
- A documented line running from Hebrew through Greek and Latin to the modern Spanish form, unbroken for two millennia.
To consider
- Mateo and the Italian Matteo are constantly confused. Expect to spell it out, and to see the double-t version on forms and name tags.
- Many boys of this very young generation carry it, so a classroom may hold more than one. That fades as the wave moves through school.
- English speakers who know Matthew sometimes default to Matt, which loses the Spanish shape of the name if that matters to you.
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 Elijah and Mateo in full.
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Decide together
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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 Elijah and Mateo — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Elijah or Mateo — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Elijah or Mateo?
- Elijah, in 2025: Elijah ranked #7 with 11,111 babies; Mateo ranked #8 with 11,045 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Elijah or Mateo?
- Mateo. Over the last five years Elijah moved down 3 places; Mateo moved up 12 places.
- Which is the older name, Elijah or Mateo?
- Elijah was already in use when US records began in 1880; Mateo entered the US charts in 1904. On the American record, Elijah is the older name.
- How many people are named Elijah and Mateo?
- About 365,000 people named Elijah are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 125,000 people named Mateo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Elijahs or Mateos in the classroom?
- Roughly 1 in 6 classrooms will have a child named Elijah. Roughly 1 in 6 classrooms will have a child named Mateo.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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