Matthew (given name)

Matthew is an English language male given name. It ultimately derives from the Hebrew name "מתתיהו‎" (Matityahu) which means "Gift of Yahweh".

Matthew
Pronunciation/ˈmæθ.juː/
GenderMale
Origin
Word/nameHebrew language
Meaning"Gift of Yahweh"[1]
Other names
Alternative spellingMathew
Nickname(s)Matt, Matty
Popularitysee popular names

Etymology

The Hebrew name "מַתִּתְיָהוּ‎" (Matityahu) was transliterated into Greek to "Ματταθίας" (Mattathias).[2] It was subsequently shortened to Greek "Ματθαῖος" (Matthaios); this was Latinised as Matthaeus, which became Matthew in English. The popularity of the name is due to Matthew the Apostle who, in Christian tradition, is one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and the author of the Gospel of Matthew.[3][4][5][6]

Maiú and Maidiú are Irish forms of the name Matthew, and were brought to Ireland by the Anglo-Normans. Maitiú and Matha are the most common Irish variants of the name. The name is also sometimes used as an anglicisation of the Irish name Mathúin, meaning bear.[7][8]

Popularity

The name Matthew became popular during the Middle Ages in Northwest Europe, and has been very common throughout the English-speaking world.[9]

In Ireland, Matthew was ranked the 15th most popular male name in 2007. In 2008, it was ranked 20th, falling to 23rd between 2009-2010, and then 24th between 2011-2012.[10] In 2016, it was the 29th most popular male name in Ireland, rising to 26th in 2017.[11][12]

In the United Kingdom, Matthew has been among the 10 most popular male names. Matthew has been in the top 1,000 most popular male names in Australia, Canada and United States.

List of people
Further information: List of people with given name Matthew

See also

References
  1. Robert Horton Gundry (1994). Matthew: A Commentary on His Handbook for a Mixed Church Under Persecution. p. 166. ISBN 9780802807359.
  2. Luk 3:25 and Luk 3:26
  3. Information on the name Matthew
  4. Information on the name Matthew (2)
  5. Gospel of Matthew (Authorship and Sources)
  6. The Lives (Matthew)
  7. Information on the name Matthew (3)
  8. Irish Names: Matthew
  9. Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press, pp. 188–189, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1
  10. "Irish Babies' Names 2012". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  11. "Irish Babies' Names 2017". The Central Statistics Office (CSO). Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  12. "Here's what the most popular baby names were in Ireland last year". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.