Boys' name · peaked in 1983
Matthew name popularity since 1925
1,645,381 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Matthew. Half of them were born in 1988 or earlier, so the typical Matthew is about 38 years old in 2026. Matthew peaked in 1983 as the #3 name for boys, and it ranked #32 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 1,645,381
- Named Matthew, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #32
- for boys in 2025 (7,003 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% boys
- 5,570 girls · 1,639,811 boys
- Most popular in
- New Hampshire
- 1.72× its national share
Peak year is the year Matthew made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Matthew births per year, 1925–2025
1983 was the biggest year for Matthew both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1953 and 1958, Matthew became 2.5× more common, from 1 in 831 baby boys to 1 in 333.
- Steepest fall: Between 2017 and 2022, its share of baby boys fell by 36%, from 1 in 158 to 1 in 247.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Matthew's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Matthew.
Decade by decade
Babies named Matthew in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 16 | 3,918 | – |
| 1930s | 13 | 6,255 | #195 |
| 1940s | 15 | 8,760 | #198 |
| 1950s | 64 | 35,796 | #105 |
| 1960s | 339 | 105,938 | #36 |
| 1970s | 1,232 | 277,727 | #9 |
| 1980s | 2,567 | 458,951 | #3 |
| 1990s | 735 | 351,682 | #2 |
| 2000s | 389 | 221,631 | #4 |
| 2010s | 155 | 125,101 | #15 |
| 2020–25 | 45 | 44,052 | #32 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
41.5% of babies named Matthew from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Millennial years (1981–1996). The full split by generation:
Where Matthew is most popular
The index compares Matthew's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Matthew.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | 1.72× | 8,974 |
| Delaware | 1.52× | 5,242 |
| Alaska | 1.48× | 3,663 |
| Connecticut | 1.47× | 26,375 |
| Rhode Island | 1.41× | 8,275 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Matthew and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Matthew (this page) | 1,639,811 | 1983 |
| Mathew | 73,708 | 1987 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Matthew's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Matthew.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Matthew (1983).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data