Matthew

#14,942 for girls in 2025, 5 births · #32 for boys in 2025, 7,003 births
Given to boys 99.7% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
1995 · 32,882 births
Debut · boys
113 births
In top 100 · boys
70 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · boys
1,654,075
since 1880

Matthew over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100rank188019001920194019601980200020201979peak #2, 1995boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#14,9425#327,003
2024#11,1228#337,107
2023#13,4626#327,234
2022#10,3839#397,077
2021#9,56210#367,489
2020#12,1427#308,142
2019#7,34215#239,277
2018#9,80610#2010,009
2017#8,29913#1611,732
2016#8,87512#1512,665
2015#7,61315#1512,785
2014#7,63615#1612,944
2013#7,03117#1513,364
2012#6,11021#1213,993
2011#5,93522#1214,184
2010#7,88015#1614,148
2009#7,06618#1316,010
2008#5,95523#1017,604
2007#5,89523#918,756
2006#5,90622#520,339
2005#4,19533#421,483
2004#1,811105#422,882
2003#3,65538#424,011
2002#3,81034#425,154
2001#2,92449#326,812
2000#3,12144#328,580
1999#3,37437#330,418
1998#2,49855#331,146
1997#2,62248#331,517
1996#2,04168#232,077
1995#2,12563#232,882
1994#1,90574#333,654
1993#1,98570#335,782
1992#1,63093#337,733
1991#1,517102#341,647
1990#1,300125#344,826
1989#995173#345,375
1988#740253#345,876
1987#651289#346,511
1986#656281#346,929
1985#632294#347,075
1984#611293#349,767
1983#570317#350,209
1982#653273#346,045
1981#801201#343,330
1980#819193#637,834
1979#912162#635,621
1978#910156#634,282
1977#869167#931,965
1976#924140#929,951
1975#1,048113#928,527
1974#1,082108#927,194
1973#1,054110#1024,531
1972#996119#1022,928
1971#1,21193#1922,543
1970#1,52664#2420,185
1969#1,37070#2417,462
1968#1,25876#2415,823
1967#1,61749#2813,568
1966#1,82739#3410,803
1965#2,46424#369,982
1964#2,82520#438,981
1963#2,70421#508,034
1962#4,26310#567,279
1961#2,83919#597,081
1960#3,92011#616,925
1959#2,39523#636,542
1958#3,23214#606,377
1957#5,3776#835,234
1956#4,4678#904,366
1955#5,2086#1053,279
1954#1242,688
1953#4,5957#1302,374
1952#1422,032
1951#1631,605
1950#1741,299
1949#1761,219
1948#5,2435#1901,054
1947#1961,045
1946#4,9605#194892
1945#198730
1944#195765
1943#197822
1942#189842
1941#198727
1940#4,3495#198664
1939#201622
1938#205608
1937#201605
1936#202608
1935#195654
1934#4,2865#202610
1933#201581
1932#188702
1931#208608
1930#3,3458#204657
1929#4,5705#189727
1928#182784
1927#4,8055#183790
1926#4,3066#185777
1925#174840
1924#171850
1923#163935
1922#159982
1921#5,0995#161914
1920#151967
1919#152879
1918#148963
1917#149862
1916#148825
1915#150798
1914#151613
1913#151491
1912#156380
1911#2,4635#152220
1910#158197
1909#166147
1908#155152
1907#174124
1906#150136
1905#177107
1904#18597
1903#166102
1902#167104
1901#16789
1900#161130
1899#150101
1898#135133
1897#156100
1896#136123
1895#139112
1894#131124
1893#138108
1892#128132
1891#122113
1890#16486
1889#118118
1888#136114
1887#123108
1886#123112
1885#123111
1884#123117
1883#15286
1882#127109
1881#15480
1880#116113
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Matthew was already there! It came in at #116, and was given to 113 baby boys.


Quietest stretch: 1880–1891, when fewer than 120 boys a year got the name.

See more about Matthew
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • 1 spot since 2024 (#33#32)
  • 2 spots since 2020 (#30#32)
  • 17 spots since 2015 (#15#32)
  • Biggest jump: 42 spots in 1891 (#164#122)
  • Biggest drop: 46 spots in 1890 (#118#164)
Rise & fade · boys
115 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1995 at #2 (32,882 births)
  • Births halved by 2009, 14 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 10 for 37 yrs
  • Top 10: 37 yrs · run 1972–2008
  • Top 100: 70 yrs · run 1956–2025
  • Top 1,000: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 36
  • Highest: 1 in 36 boys born in 1983 were named Matthew (2.8%)
  • Latest: 1 in 244 boys born in 2025 (0.41%)
  • Its best rank, #2 in 1995, was only 1 in 58 (1.7%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 1980s
  • 27.7% of all boys named Matthew (458,951) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s1,068#116 (1880)#130
1890s1,132#122 (1891)#140
1900s1,188#150 (1906)#167
1910s6,228#148 (1918)#152
1920s8,566#151 (1920)#172
1930s6,255#188 (1932)#201
1940s8,760#176 (1949)#193
1950s35,796#60 (1958)#113
1960s105,938#24 (1969)#42
1970s277,727#6 (1979)#11
1980s458,951#3 (1983)#3
1990s351,682#2 (1995)#3
2000s221,631#3 (2000)#6
2010s125,101#12 (2011)#16
2020s44,052#30 (2020)#34

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Matthew in 1979

girls
#912
162 births · 1 in 9,909 girls
boys
#6
35,621 births · 1 in 48 boys

Top girls' names in 1979

  1. #1Jennifer56,712
  2. #2Melissa34,050
  3. #3Amanda31,924
  4. #4Jessica27,780
  5. #5Amy21,609
  6. #6Sarah21,015
  7. #7Heather20,834
  8. #8Angela20,256
  9. #9Nicole19,510
  10. #10Michelle19,266
  11. #912Matthew162

Top boys' names in 1979

  1. #1Michael67,713
  2. #2Christopher50,659
  3. #3Jason50,369
  4. #4David42,053
  5. #5James39,351
  6. #6Matthew35,621
  7. #7John35,410
  8. #8Robert34,015
  9. #9Joshua31,120
  10. #10Brian28,659
More about 1979

girls

1,605,268 girls got a published name in 1979; 1 in 9,909 of them was named Matthew, which outranked 92.4% of the 11,972 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 17.0% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Matthew
  1. #905Melina164
  2. #905Thelma164
  3. #911Jeanie163
  4. #912Matthew162
  5. #912Alina162
  6. #912Anitra162
  7. #912Desirae162
  8. #920Janis161
  9. #920Lizette161
  10. #922Mildred160

Tied with 7 names at #912; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1978
Risers
  1. 1,593Breanne#2,125#532
  2. 1,527Loni#2,516#989
  3. 1,287Renata#2,012#725
  4. 985Ashanti#1,862#877
  5. 896Nicolette#1,581#685
Fallers
  1. 392Christel#762#1,154
  2. 312Kenisha#557#869
  3. 297Ariane#887#1,184
  4. 285Imelda#947#1,232
  5. 252Farrah#539#791

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

1,721,536 boys got a published name in 1979; 1 in 48 of them was named Matthew, which outranked 99.9% of the 7,071 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 24.1% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Matthew
  1. #3Jason50,369
  2. #4David42,053
  3. #5James39,351
  4. #6Matthew35,621
  5. #7John35,410
  6. #8Robert34,015
  7. #9Joshua31,120
Biggest movers since 1978
Risers
  1. 1,228Tyrel#2,134#906
  2. 471Jace#1,186#715
  3. 387Chaz#1,371#984
  4. 311Tyrell#1,051#740
  5. 308Frederic#1,203#895
Fallers
  1. 1,230Dequan#927#2,157
  2. 641Rahsaan#869#1,510
  3. 446Chip#989#1,435
  4. 308Rashaun#996#1,304
  5. 307Kenya#749#1,056

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1979