Matt
Masculine · “gift of the Lord”
Matt is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 23,887 boys against 5 girls since 1880.
Matt is the short form of Matthew, and Matthew is a Hebrew sentence: a gift of God. It is one of the names the New Testament gives an evangelist, which put it into every Christian language at once.
How old is the name Matt?
Matt was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Matt alive today was born around 1966, making them about 59 years old. About 17,500 people named Matt are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Matt most popular?
Matt peaked in 1884, reaching #227 nationally. Today it ranks #3757, 3,530 places below that high. See the whole 1884 chart.
Where it comes from
From Mattityahu to Matt
The story of Matt
Matthew is named as one of the twelve and as the author of the first gospel, and the name spread through every Christian language: Matteo, Mateo, Matthias, Matvey. English used it steadily from the Middle Ages and heavily from the twentieth century, when it rose into the American top five. Matt was registered as a legal name in its own right alongside it, peaking in the early 1980s.
Meaning
gift of the Lord
From the Hebrew Mattityahu — mattan, 'gift', and Yah, the divine name — so 'gift of the Lord'. Greek rendered it Matthaios and Latin Matthaeus. The meaning is transparent and has never been in doubt.
How the name formed
- Mattityahu
- Matthaios
- Matthew
- Matt
Related forms: Matteo · Mateo · Matvey · Maitiú
Pronouncing Matt
MAT
One syllable. Said identically in every English accent.
Nicknames for Matt
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 1963906 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #227reached in 1884
- Change vs 2022
- −14.7%29 in 2025, from 34
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.
Matt in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Matteo in Italian — related form
- Mateo in Spanish — related form
- Matvey in Russian — related form
- Maitiú in Irish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Florida, New York.
Matts among us
people named Matt are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 58,899 born in 2025 was named Matt
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Matt 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 Matt is headed
Matt 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.
Matt beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Matt in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Matthew stands behind it with two thousand years of documented use.
- One syllable, plain and unmistakable in any accent.
- Cousins exist in every European language.
- It is an ordinary English noun for a floor covering.
- Given outright it stays informal; Matthew on the certificate keeps both registers.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Matt
Masculine · #3757 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Matts are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 17,500 people named Matt are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Matt in 2025?
- Matt ranks #3757 among US boy names in 2025, with 29 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Matt?
- About 1 in every 58,899 US boys born in 2025 was named Matt — 29 in all.
- Will my child share the name Matt with classmates?
- Matt will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Matt
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Stanton#3757 · Reymundo#3757 · Greer#3757 · Zaven#3757 · Kelson#3757 · Javin#3757 · Faizan#3757 · Wilfred#3757
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Matt? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Matt and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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