Matthews
Masculine · “Hebrew "gift of Yahweh”
The -s at the end of Matthews is a patronymic, and its distribution draws a map. Surnames of that shape — Williams, Jones, Roberts, Evans, Davies — cluster overwhelmingly in Wales and the border counties, because Wales adopted fixed surnames late and formed them from the father's name.
How old is the name Matthews?
Matthews first appears in US birth records in 1882 — 143 years ago. The typical Matthews alive today was born around 1977, making them about 48 years old. About 1,200 people named Matthews are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Matthews most popular?
Matthews peaked in 1882, reaching #943 nationally. Today it ranks #7679, 6,736 places below that high. See the whole 1882 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Mattityahu to Matthews
The story of Matthews
Wales kept the patronymic system, with ap or ab meaning son of, for centuries after England had fixed hereditary surnames — so a man was Dafydd ap Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, with the chain going back as far as memory allowed. Under Tudor administration Welsh families were pushed toward fixed surnames, and the simplest route was to freeze the father's name with an English genitive: Jones from John, Williams from William, Evans from Evan, Roberts from Robert. That is why a handful of surnames cover an enormous share of the Welsh population and why the -s pattern is diagnostic. Matthews as an American given name peaks in 1882.
Meaning
Hebrew "gift of Yahweh", with an English patronymic ending
Matthew is from Mattityahu, mattat, a gift, plus Yah, the abbreviated divine name. The final -s in English surnames is a genitive, meaning son of — a reduction of a longer phrase. It is far more common in Wales and the Welsh Marches than in England, where -son endings and unmarked forms predominate.
How the name formed
- Mattityahu
- Matthew
- Matthews
Related forms: Mathews · Matthewson
Pronouncing Matthews
MATH-yooz
Two syllables, stress on the first, with a voiced z at the end. The th is the unvoiced one of thin, as in Matthew.
Nicknames for Matthews
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
- 1882
- Most boys named
- 198434 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #943reached in 1882
- Change vs 2023
- −41.2%10 in 2025, from 17
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.
Matthews in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Mathews in Welsh — spelling variant
- Matthewson in English — related form
Matthewss among us
people named Matthews are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 170,808 born in 2025 was named Matthews
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
Matthews 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
Matthews beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Matthews in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The underlying name has a settled and well-documented meaning.
- Matt and Matty are immediate short forms.
- It is read correctly on sight by every English speaker.
- It is far more common as a surname than a given name.
- The final s will be dropped by people writing it from speech.
- The 1880s peak dates a bearer strongly.
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Matthews
Masculine · #7679 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Matthewss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,200 people named Matthews are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Matthews in 2025?
- Matthews ranks #7679 among US boy names in 2025, with 10 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Matthews?
- About 1 in every 170,808 US boys born in 2025 was named Matthews — 10 in all.
- Will my child share the name Matthews with classmates?
- Matthews will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Matthews
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Early#7679 · Obie#7679 · Huston#7679 · Knute#7679 · Rance#7679 · Blain#7679 · Doyle#7679 · Millard#7679
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Matthews? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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