Head to head · Boys' names
Matthias vs Miller
#372 vs #369 in 2025
Miller is a whisker ahead (#369 vs #372 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Miller is climbing the charts fast, Matthias is holding its place on the charts.
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
On the charts, Miller leads 4 measures of 6; Matthias 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: Matthias #861, Miller #638 — Miller higher
- 1890s: Matthias #1041, Miller #694 — Miller higher
- 1900s: Matthias —, Miller #655 — Miller higher
- 1910s: Matthias #1623, Miller #707 — Miller higher
- 1920s: Matthias #2560, Miller #785 — Miller higher
- 1930s: Matthias #2882, Miller #902 — Miller higher
- 1940s: Matthias #2789, Miller #1084 — Miller higher
- 1950s: Matthias #3071, Miller #1196 — Miller higher
- 1960s: Matthias #1930, Miller #1538 — Miller higher
- 1970s: Matthias #1867, Miller #2015 — Matthias higher
- 1980s: Matthias #1360, Miller #2528 — Matthias higher
- 1990s: Matthias #1297, Miller #1821 — Matthias higher
- 2000s: Matthias #930, Miller #1340 — Matthias higher
- 2010s: Matthias #577, Miller #898 — Matthias higher
- 2020s: Matthias #444, Miller #538 — Matthias higher
Miller stood higher in 9 of 15 decades; Matthias has held the lead since the 1970s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Matthias | Miller |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #861 | #638 |
| 1890s | #1041 | #694 |
| 1900s | — | #655 |
| 1910s | #1623 | #707 |
| 1920s | #2560 | #785 |
| 1930s | #2882 | #902 |
| 1940s | #2789 | #1084 |
| 1950s | #3071 | #1196 |
| 1960s | #1930 | #1538 |
| 1970s | #1867 | #2015 |
| 1980s | #1360 | #2528 |
| 1990s | #1297 | #1821 |
| 2000s | #930 | #1340 |
| 2010s | #577 | #898 |
| 2020s | #444 | #538 |
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
Matthias
Gift of Yahweh
From Hebrew Mattityahu, from mattath 'gift' and the divine name. Matthew comes from the same Hebrew source through a slightly different Greek spelling, which is why the two names look and mean so much alike.
Mattityahu → Matthias (Greek) → Matthias (Latin) → Mathias → Matthias
How it traveled
The Hebrew name Mattityahu reached Greek in two shapes, Matthaios and Matthias, and both survived. Matthias is the one used in the Acts of the Apostles for the man chosen by lot to fill the twelfth place after Judas, which fixed the spelling in Latin scripture and sent it across Christian Europe.
Miller
one who grinds grain — a mill worker
From Middle English millere, from the mill itself (Old English mylen, borrowed from Latin molina).
mylen (Old English, 'mill') → millere (Middle English) → Miller
How it traveled
Miller began as an occupational surname in medieval England and Scotland, given to the man who ran the mill — one of the few pieces of heavy machinery a village possessed, and one of its busiest social centers. It grew into one of the most widespread surnames in the English-speaking world, swelled further in America when German-speaking families arriving in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries translated Müller into its English twin.
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
Matthias
muh-THY-us
That is the usual English reading. German and Scandinavian speakers say mah-TEE-ahs, and Spanish Matías is mah-TEE-as; families with those ties often keep their own version, so it is worth deciding early which one you will offer when introducing him.
- Matt — The everyday short form in English, shared with Matthew and Matteo; long established as a standalone given name too.
- Matty — Informal and affectionate, common in childhood and among family.
- Thias — Used in German-speaking families, clipped from the back of the name rather than the front.
- Mat — A one-t spelling of the short form, less common than Matt.
Miller
MIL-er
Two syllables, stress on the first, identical to the English word miller. No ambiguity in American English.
- Millie — Informal; also a long-established given name in its own right, and the short form most likely to be reached for if Miller is a girl.
- Mills — Informal, surname-style; common among friends and teammates rather than family.
- Mill — Short and informal, mostly within the family.
- Milly — Spelling variant of Millie, used informally.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Matthias if you want…
- a name holding steadyMatthias is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itMatthias runs 3 syllables, Miller 2
Choose Miller if you want…
- a name on the way upup 329 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesMiller is 2 syllables to Matthias's 3
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
Matthias
Strengths
- Ready-made short forms: Matt and Matty are already understood everywhere in English, with no explaining required.
- Recognizable across German, Dutch, Scandinavian, Hungarian and Spanish-speaking families, in forms close enough to be identified as the same name.
- A documented line running from Hebrew through Greek and Latin into modern European languages, unbroken for two thousand years.
To consider
- It is constantly heard as Matthew, and Matt belongs to both. If the full form matters to you, expect to correct people for years — and to hear him introduced as Matt anyway.
- Two spellings compete, Matthias and Mathias, and two pronunciations do as well: muh-THY-us in English, mah-TEE-as in German and Scandinavian mouths. Neither is wrong, which is precisely why both keep coming back.
- Its recent American growth means most people carrying it here are still young; the name reads as newer in the US than its long European history suggests.
Miller
Strengths
- A spelling nearly every American already knows from the surname, so it rarely needs to be repeated or corrected.
- One clear pronunciation, with no competing versions to head off.
- Carries a ready-made short form in Millie, plus the informal Mills.
To consider
- It is a very common last name, so forms, roll calls and email systems will sometimes read it as a surname in the wrong column — and a classmate may well have it as theirs.
- Miller is also a large American beer brand, an association strong enough that adults will occasionally make the joke.
- The name leans to boys without settling there. A girl named Miller will be in the smaller group, and Millie may pull her toward a more traditionally feminine everyday name.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Matthias
40%chance Matthias feels dated by 2040
Matthias sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Miller
57%chance Miller feels dated by 2040
Miller is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
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 Matthias and Miller 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 Matthias and Miller?
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.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
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 Matthias and Miller — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Matthias or Miller — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Matthias or Miller?
- Miller, in 2025: Miller ranked #369 with 864 babies; Matthias ranked #372 with 854 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Matthias or Miller?
- Miller. Over the last five years Matthias moved up 54 places; Miller moved up 329 places.
- Which is the older name, Matthias or Miller?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Matthias and Miller?
- About 13,000 people named Matthias are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 8,700 people named Miller are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Matthiass or Millers in the classroom?
- Matthias will almost certainly be the only one in school. Miller 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
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Matthias, Miller and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap