Matthew

Matthew meaning

Matthew is a Christian and international boy's name of Hebrew origin.

Gift of God; from mattath, gift, and Jah

Matthew comes, through Latin Matthaeus, from Greek Matthaios, which Strong's Concordance equates with the Hebrew name Mattithyah, built from mattath, "gift", and Yah, a short form of the divine name: "gift of God". In the New Testament it is the name of one of the twelve apostles. Britannica records that in Matthew 9:9 Jesus called him from the customs house at Capernaum, that he is identified with Levi the tax collector, and that tradition credits him with the first Gospel, though scholars doubt the attribution. He is a patron saint of tax collectors and accountants. Name lists give the same meaning, "gift of God". In India the name is also spelt Mathew.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, G3156 (from H4993) · entry Mattithyah · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: Strong's Hebrew 4993, Mattithyah · Britannica, Saint Matthew

Famous namesakes

• Saint Matthew, apostle and traditional author of the first Gospel

Popularity abroad

• #32 United States, boys 2025 (up 1 from 33 in 2024)
  US Social Security Administration
• #153 England and Wales, boys 2025
  Office for National Statistics

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

Spellings

Matthew · Mathew

Related names

Also meaning gift

Also starting with Mat-

More names of Hebrew origin

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