Matthias

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Boy · Hebrew, through Greek

Matthias

Say it: muh-THY-us

Try it with your surname

Meaning

Greek form of Hebrew Mattityahu, 'gift of YHWH'.

Certainscholars agree on this meaning.

Common in German-speaking countries and Hungary; Matías is popular in Latin America.

Its wave through time

Rising now

In the United States

020406018801900192019401960198020002020Peak 2018per 100,000 babies of that sex
  • 10,149 babies given this name since 1880
  • At its height in 2018, about 1 in 2,300 boys
  • 676 babies in 2020

Through the ages

  1. The Biblical WorldAbout 1200 BC to AD 100
  2. The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450
  3. The Renaissance1400 to 1600
  4. The Modern Age1880 to today

Used by

HebrewEarly ChristianGermanPolishHungarianSpanishItalianArgentineAustrianSwiss

The family of the name

Other spellings: Mathias, Matthes

FrenchMatthias
SpanishMatías
ItalianMattia
PortugueseMatias
GermanMatthias
PolishMaciej
RussianMatvey
HungarianMátyás

Famous bearers

  • Matthias, apostle chosen to replace Judas
  • Matthias Corvinus, king of Hungary
  • Matthias Claudius, poet

Names worth a look

Where this comes from

  • The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament
  • Royal and noble genealogies
  • National birth statistics of European countries source
  • Calendars of saints and name days
  • United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.