boy's name
Matthieu
ma-TYUH
- Origin French
- Gender Boy
- Letters 8
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 84,791
France
#430
2025 births
Matthieu means gift of God, and it is the second spelling of this name in our gap band — France ranks Matthieu 430th and Mathieu 416th, so the two have split the sound almost exactly evenly.
- Matthieu is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 1987, when 3,495 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 5,359 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1910.
Matthieu over time
Births per decade in France, 1910s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 5 |
| 1930s | 5 |
| 1950s | 35 |
| 1960s | 730 |
| 1970s | 11,790 |
| 1980s | 31,175 |
| 1990s | 22,210 |
| 2000s | 12,045 |
| 2010s | 3,675 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 755 |
What Matthieu means
Matthieu means gift of God, or given by Yahweh. The Hebrew joins the divine name to a word meaning a gift, so it describes the child as something received.
Where Matthieu comes from
Matthieu is a French form of Matthew, from the Hebrew Mattityahu — mattan, a gift, joined to Yah, a form of the divine name. The apostle names himself a tax collector in his own gospel, which is not a detail an author usually volunteers. The double-t spelling follows the Latin Matthaeus while Mathieu follows French usage, and both are current. Several unrelated names — Nathaniel, Theodore, Jonathan, Dorothy — say the same thing in other languages.
Matthieu in use
Matthieu peaked in France in 1987, when 3,495 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in three of the seven markets we track — 430th in France on 110 births, 2716th in Canada and 7442nd in the United States — across 84,791 lifetime births. Mathieu, written up separately, ranks 416th in France, so the two spellings sit fourteen places apart in the same market.
How popular is Matthieu?
In 2025, Matthieu was given to 110 babies in France, ranking #430 that year. It is a rare choice.
Where Matthieu is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Matthieu
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Matthieu also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Matthieu over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Matthieu
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Matthieu in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Matthieu
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Matthieu — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Matthieu
What does the name Matthieu mean?
Gift of God — the Hebrew mattan, a gift, joined to Yah.
Is it Matthieu or Mathieu?
Both are French and both current. France ranks them 430th and 416th — fourteen places apart.
Do other names mean the same?
Nathaniel, Theodore, Jonathan and Dorothy all say gift of God in different languages.
How popular is Matthieu?
430th in France, down from a 1987 peak of 3,495 births.
Is Matthieu a girl's or a boy's name?
Matthieu is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
What are the nicknames for Matthieu?
Matthieu is usually shortened to Matt.
Is Matthieu a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Matthieu currently ranks #430 in France. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.