Top 40 US name Boys' name Peak 1983 1,646,990 births

Matthew — #33 US boys' name

1,646,990 babies named Matthew in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1983. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s10681890s11321900s11881910s62281920s85661930s62551940s87601950s358001960s1059431970s2777521980s4589531990s3516732000s2216202010s1250672020s36985
#33
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 99.8% of names given to boys today.

1980s
Peak decade

28% of everyone ever named Matthew was born in this single decade.

1983
Single peak year

50,208 babies were named Matthew in 1983 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Matthew

The Social Security Administration has registered 1,646,990 babies named Matthew between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Matthew currently holds the #33 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1983, when 50,208 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Matthew performed strongest in the 1980s, accumulating 458,953 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Matthew shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 180,781 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by New York and Texas. In total, SSA state-level files list Matthew in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Matthew in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 1,646,990 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Matthew at a glance

Top 100 boys' name

Total births

1,646,990

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1983

50,208 births that year

Strongest decade: 1980s

Current rank

#33

In the top 100

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Matthew popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 100 boys' name
Peak year (1983)
50,208
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-20,000020,00040,00060,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 113

Matthew popularity over time — girls

5,575 total births recorded since 1911 (Matthew as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 5,575 births
-1000100200300400 202420132002199119801969195819271911 5

Matthew by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1980s
Peak decade
1980s
458,953 births that decade — 28% of Matthew's all-time total
1880s10681890s11321900s11881910s62281920s85661930s62551940s87601950s358001960s1059431970s2777521980s4589531990s3516732000s2216202010s1250672020s36985

Matthew by state

Where Matthew concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Matthew
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
180,781 11.0%
#2 New York
134,557 8.2%
#3 Texas
101,372 6.2%
#4 Pennsylvania
93,998 5.7%
#5 Ohio
83,057 5.0%
#6 Illinois
81,738 5.0%
#7 Michigan
69,000 4.2%
#8 Florida
65,604 4.0%
California share of Matthew's total US births 11.0%
Even split

180,781 of 1,646,990 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Matthew appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Matthew?
1,646,990 babies have been named Matthew since 1880. It currently ranks #33 among boys. The peak year was 1983 with 50,208 births.
When was Matthew most popular?
Matthew was most popular in the 1980s decade with 458,953 total births. The single peak year was 1983.
Where is Matthew most popular?
The top states for the name Matthew are California (180,781 births), New York (134,557 births), Texas (101,372 births).
How long has the name Matthew been used?
Matthew has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Matthew?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Mateo, Mathew, Matteo, Matt, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Matthew

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.