boys' name ★ peaked 1983

Matthew

Gender Boy Rank 2025 #32 Trend ↓ Falling 19%

From earlier Matheu, from Old French Mathieu, from Latin Matthaeus, from Ancient Greek Ματθαῖος (Matthaîos), from Aramaic מַתַּי (mattay).

Rank 2025
#32
among boys · ↑1 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
7,008
named Matthew · -2% vs 2024
How common
1 in 244
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1983
50,526 babies
All-time total
1,659,655
#13 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Matthew popularity over time

1,659,655 babies have been named Matthew since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
7.51522.53018801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 1,068 1,068 107 – #117
1890s – 1,132 1,132 113 +6% #123
1900s – 1,188 1,188 119 +5% #150
1910s 5 6,228 6,233 623 +425% #148
1920s 21 8,566 8,587 859 +38% #152
1930s 13 6,255 6,268 627 -27% #188
1940s 15 8,760 8,775 878 +40% #177
1950s 64 35,796 35,860 3,586 +309% #60
1960s 339 105,938 106,277 10,628 +196% #24
1970s 1,232 277,727 278,959 27,896 +162% #6
1980s 2,567 458,951 461,518 46,152 +65% #3
1990s 735 351,682 352,417 35,242 -24% #2
2000s 389 221,631 222,020 22,202 -37% #3
2010s 155 125,101 125,256 12,526 -44% #12
2020s (to 2025) 45 44,052 44,097 7,350 -41% #30

Where Matthew is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 6,754 3.95 #36
2027 6,549 3.83 #38
2028 6,379 3.73 #39
2029 6,239 3.65 #41
2030 6,122 3.58 #44

Where Matthew is most popular

Boys named Matthew per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 4.16 per 1,000. Strongest in Alaska, New Jersey, and Florida.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Matthew born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Alaska 90 7.56 +82%
New Jersey 1,460 7.25 +74%
Florida 3,192 6.74 +62%
Delaware 102 6.73 +62%
Connecticut 444 6.56 +58%
Rhode Island 106 6.50 +56%
New York 2,695 6.22 +50%
Massachusetts 819 5.96 +43%
New Hampshire 131 5.90 +42%
California 5,388 5.89 +42%
Nevada 324 5.68 +37%
Wyoming 31 5.36 +29%
District of Columbia 77 5.22 +25%
New Mexico 169 5.13 +23%
Maryland 608 5.10 +23%
Texas 4,480 5.08 +22%
Pennsylvania 1,343 5.06 +22%
Virginia 917 4.83 +16%
South Carolina 447 4.33 ≈ national
Montana 76 4.31 ≈ national
Illinois 1,087 4.25 ≈ national
Hawaii 63 4.06 ≈ national
Alabama 442 4.04 ≈ national
Indiana 647 4.03 ≈ national
Arkansas 255 4.03 ≈ national
Idaho 164 4.01 ≈ national
North Carolina 1,017 3.98 ≈ national
Washington 650 3.97 ≈ national
Kentucky 398 3.97 -5%
Kansas 272 3.97 -5%
Oregon 300 3.95 -5%
Arizona 646 3.95 -5%
Louisiana 403 3.94 -5%
Georgia 984 3.88 -7%
Mississippi 218 3.84 -8%
North Dakota 64 3.75 -10%
Tennessee 675 3.74 -10%
West Virginia 122 3.74 -10%
Colorado 476 3.69 -11%
Michigan 751 3.67 -12%
South Dakota 67 3.60 -13%
Utah 342 3.58 -14%
Oklahoma 316 3.57 -14%
Ohio 937 3.54 -15%
Missouri 489 3.53 -15%
Vermont 22 3.50 -16%
Wisconsin 396 3.34 -20%
Maine 64 3.30 -21%
Iowa 213 3.09 -26%
Minnesota 377 3.07 -26%
Nebraska 132 3.04 -27%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Matthew

Matthew is a top-50 name for boys in the United States, ranked #32 in 2025 with 7,003 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 1,659,655 American babies have been named Matthew. Its peak came in 1983, when 50,526 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1980s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Matthew stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Matthew?

The median living Matthew is about 37 years old; half are between 26 and 45. An estimated 1.5 million people named Matthew are alive in the United States today.

median 37 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Matthew year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 5 #16,434 7,003 #32
2024 8 #11,781 7,107 #33
2023 6 #14,560 7,234 #32
2022 9 #10,925 7,077 #39
2021 10 #10,053 7,489 #36
2020 7 #13,010 8,142 #30
2019 15 #7,588 9,277 #23
2018 10 #10,303 10,009 #20
2017 13 #8,610 11,732 #16
2016 12 #9,236 12,665 #15
2015 15 #7,865 12,785 #15
2014 15 #7,938 12,944 #16
2013 17 #7,271 13,364 #15
2012 21 #6,263 13,993 #12
2011 22 #6,073 14,184 #12
2010 15 #8,158 14,148 #16
2009 18 #7,243 16,010 #13
2008 23 #6,069 17,604 #10
2007 23 #6,021 18,756 #9
2006 22 #6,057 20,339 #5
2005 33 #4,236 21,483 #4
2004 105 #1,816 22,882 #4
2003 38 #3,706 24,011 #4
2002 34 #3,858 25,154 #4
2001 49 #2,948 26,812 #3
2000 44 #3,148 28,580 #3
1995 63 #2,144 32,882 #2
1990 125 #1,305 44,826 #3
1985 294 #636 47,075 #3
1980 193 #819 37,834 #6
1975 113 #1,051 28,527 #9
1970 64 #1,538 20,185 #24
1965 24 #2,511 9,982 #36
1960 11 #4,080 6,925 #61
1955 6 #5,624 3,279 #105
1950 – – 1,299 #174
1945 – – 730 #198
1940 5 #4,816 664 #198
1935 – – 654 #195
1930 8 #3,549 657 #204
1925 – – 840 #174
1920 – – 967 #152
1915 – – 798 #150
1910 – – 197 #158
1905 – – 107 #177
1900 – – 130 #162
1895 – – 112 #139
1890 – – 86 #165
1885 – – 111 #124
1880 – – 113 #117

Famous people named Matthew

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Matthew McConaughey Matthew McConaughey American actor (born 1969) Contemporary
  2. 2 Matthew Perry Matthew Perry American and Canadian actor (1969–2023) Contemporary
  3. 3 Matthew Broderick Matthew Broderick American actor (born 1962) Contemporary
  4. 4 Matthew Macfadyen Matthew Macfadyen English actor (born 1974) Contemporary
  5. 5 Matthew Lillard Matthew Lillard American actor and director (born 1970) Contemporary
  6. 6 Matthew Goode Matthew Goode English actor (born 1978) Contemporary
  7. 7 Matthew Modine Matthew Modine American actor (born 1959) Contemporary
  8. 8 Matthew Garber Matthew Garber British actor (1956–1977) Contemporary
  9. 9 Matthew Fox Matthew Fox American actor (born 1966) Contemporary
  10. 10 Matthew Gray Gubler Matthew Gray Gubler American actor, filmmaker, author, and model (born 1980) Contemporary
  11. 11 Matthew Vaughn Matthew Vaughn English filmmaker (born 1971) Contemporary
  12. 12 Matthew the Apostle Matthew the Apostle Apostle of Jesus 10–74 · Antiquity
  13. 13 Matthew C. Perry Matthew C. Perry United States Navy officer (1794–1858) 18th century
  14. 14 Matthew Settle Matthew Settle American actor b. 1969 · Contemporary
  15. 15 Matthew Ridgway Matthew Ridgway United States Army general (1895–1993) 19th century
  16. 16 Matthew Hopkins Matthew Hopkins English witch hunter (1620–1647) 17th century
  17. 17 Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold English poet and cultural critic (1822–1888) 19th century
  18. 18 Matthew Flinders Matthew Flinders Royal Navy officer, navigator and cartographer (1774–1814) 18th century
  19. 19 Matthew Webb Matthew Webb British swimmer (1848–1883) 19th century
  20. 20 Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox Scottish nobleman and politician (1516–1571) 16th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Matthew, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Matthew?

The median living Matthew is about 37 years old. Half of all living Matthews are between 26 and 45 years old.

How many people named Matthew are alive today?

An estimated 1.5 million people named Matthew are alive in the United States, based on 1,659,655 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Matthew mean?

From earlier Matheu, from Old French Mathieu, from Latin Matthaeus, from Ancient Greek Ματθαῖος (Matthaîos), from Aramaic מַתַּי (mattay).

How popular is the name Matthew in 2025?

Matthew ranked #32 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 7,003 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Matthew?

1,659,655 babies have been named Matthew in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Matthew most popular?

Matthew peaked in 1983, when 50,526 newborns received the name.

Is Matthew a boy or girl name?

Matthew is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Matthew rising or falling?

Matthew is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Matthew become more popular?

Matthew is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 6,122 boys named Matthew in 2030, which would rank around #44. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Matthew?

Well-known people named Matthew include Matthew McConaughey (actor), Matthew Perry (actor), Matthew Broderick (actor).

Names like Matthew

Names that sound and feel close to Matthew: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Matthew with similar names → More names starting with M →