Matea
Feminine · “Hebrew Mattityahu”
The four evangelists have symbols: Matthew a man, Mark a lion, Luke an ox, John an eagle. The four creatures come from Ezekiel and Revelation, and Jerome assigned them one each around 400. They have been on church walls ever since.
How old is the name Matea?
Matea first appears in US birth records in 1922 — 103 years ago. The typical Matea alive today was born around 2007, making them about 18 years old. About 800 people named Matea are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Matea most popular?
Matea peaked in 2006, reaching #3224 nationally. Today it ranks #9457, 6,233 places below that high. See the whole 2006 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Mattityahu to Matea
The story of Matea
Ezekiel's opening vision describes four living creatures, each with four faces: a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle. Revelation repeats them around the throne. Early Christian writers matched them to the four gospels, and although Irenaeus and Augustine made different assignments, Jerome's became standard: the man to Matthew, whose gospel opens with a human genealogy; the lion to Mark, which opens with a voice crying in the wilderness; the ox to Luke, which opens with a priest at the altar of sacrifice; the eagle to John, whose prologue soars. The four appear together on manuscripts, tympana, lecterns and stained glass throughout Western art, and the symbols are often the only way to tell which evangelist a medieval figure is meant to be, since there is no other visual difference between four bearded men holding books.
Meaning
Hebrew Mattityahu, gift of Yah
Matea is the Croatian, Spanish and Italian feminine of Matthew, from Hebrew Mattityahu, joining mattan, a gift, to Yahu, the divine name. The same elements appear reversed in other Hebrew names. Mattathias, Matteo, Mateo and Mathias are all the same name in other languages. The American peak is 2006.
How the name formed
- Mattityahu
- Matthaios
- Mateo
- Matea
Related forms: Matea · Matea · Mattea
Pronouncing Matea
mah-TAY-ah
Three syllables, stress on the second. Croatian and Spanish agree. English speakers may say MAT-ee-ah instead.
Nicknames for Matea
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1922
- Most girls named
- 200651 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3224reached in 2006
- Change vs 2024
- −47.4%10 in 2025, from 19
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Matea in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Matea in Croatian — same name
- Matea in Spanish — same name
- Mattea in Italian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Florida, Illinois.
Mateas among us
people named Matea are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 160,727 born in 2025 was named Matea
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Matea
- #9457
- Matea on the 2025 chart
- #924
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Matea went to 10 girls in 2025, but Mattea is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 36, which makes it the 924th most-given girls’ name of the year — 8,533 places above the chart.
- Mattea26
- Matea10
About 1 girl in 44,646 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 160,727 for Matea itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Janira test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Matea's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Janira climbed just as high around 1988, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Janira's path sketches the road Matea is walking now.
Matea 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.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Matea beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Matea in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Tea and Mat are both usable short forms.
- The meaning is clear and documented.
- Three syllables with clear middle stress.
- It is easily confused with Mateo, the masculine form.
- English and Croatian stress it differently.
- Mattea is the Italian spelling.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Matea to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Matea? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Matea
Feminine · #9457 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Mateas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Matea are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Matea?
- Matea is one of 2 recorded spellings. Mattea is the more common one — 26 births in 2025 against 10 for Matea.
- How popular is the name Matea in 2025?
- Matea ranks #9457 among US girl names in 2025, with 10 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Matea?
- About 1 in every 160,727 US girls born in 2025 was named Matea — 10 in all.
- Will my child share the name Matea with classmates?
- Matea will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Matea
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Leta#9457 · Inga#9457 · Delphia#9457 · Cammie#9457 · Lisandra#9457 · Amee#9457 · Venecia#9457 · Annetta#9457
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Matea? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Matea and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle