Mateus
Masculine · “gift of the Lord”
Mateus is the Portuguese form of Matthew, and the Hebrew behind it is a gift — specifically a gift from God, said in one compact word. It is among the most-used men's names in Brazil and Portugal.
How old is the name Mateus?
Mateus first appears in US birth records in 1994 — 31 years ago. The typical Mateus is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,000 people named Mateus are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mateus most popular?
Mateus peaked in 2007, reaching #2442 nationally. Today it ranks #2798, 356 places below that high. See the whole 2007 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Mattityahu to Mateus
The story of Mateus
Matthew is one of the twelve and the name attached to the first gospel, which made it a standard Christian name in every language the church reached. Portuguese shaped it into Mateus, keeping the Latin ending in a way Spanish did not — Spanish has Mateo, without the s. That small difference is a reliable marker: Mateo in a record usually means a Spanish-speaking family and Mateus a Portuguese-speaking one. It reaches United States records with Brazilian and Portuguese families, and it is far more common in Brazil than the figures here suggest.
Meaning
gift of the Lord
Hebrew Mattityahu joins mattan, 'gift', to Yah, the shortened divine name. Greek shortened it to Matthaios and Latin to Matthaeus, and every European form comes off that. The reading is not disputed anywhere.
How the name formed
- Mattityahu
- Matthaios
- Matthaeus
- Mateus
Related forms: Mateo · Matthew · Matteo · Mathieu · Matityahu
Pronouncing Mateus
mah-TEH-oosh
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. European Portuguese says the final s as a sh; Brazilian Portuguese says it as an s. English speakers usually say muh-TAY-us, which is close enough to be understood.
Nicknames for Mateus
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
- 1994
- Most boys named
- 200752 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2442reached in 2007
- Change vs 2024
- +9.8%45 in 2025, from 41
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.
Mateus in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Mateo in Spanish — same name
- Matthew in English — same name
- Matteo in Italian — same name
- Mathieu in French — same name
- Matityahu in Hebrew — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Florida, Massachusetts.
Mateuss among us
people named Mateus are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 37,957 born in 2025 was named Mateus
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Lang test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Mateus's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Lang climbed just as high around 1948, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Lang's path sketches the road Mateus is walking now.
Mateus 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
Where Mateus is headed
Mateus should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Mateus beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Mateus in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Belongs to one of the largest and most recognized name families in the world.
- Mat works as a short form in English and Teu in Portuguese, so it has one for each setting.
- Three syllables that read correctly in English, Portuguese and Spanish alike.
- Mateus and Matheus are both standard in Brazil, so the h gets added or dropped constantly.
- Mateo is far more common in the United States and this spelling will be corrected.
- The final s is said as a sh in Portugal and an s in Brazil, so the name shifts between them.
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What they receive
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Mateus
Masculine · #2798 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Mateuss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Mateus are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Mateus in 2025?
- Mateus ranks #2798 among US boy names in 2025, with 45 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Mateus?
- About 1 in every 37,957 US boys born in 2025 was named Mateus — 45 in all.
- Will my child share the name Mateus with classmates?
- Mateus will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Mateus
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Murad#2798 · Hamzah#2798 · Hutson#2798 · Rickey#2798 · Nicodemus#2798 · Chayce#2798 · Amor#2798 · Jaiceon#2798
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mateus? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Mateus and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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