Fun Facts About the Name Mattathias
- 10 babies named Mattathias: U.S. records list 10 babies given the name Mattathias from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Mattathias Mean?
Mattathias is the Greek form (Ματταθίας) of the Hebrew name Mattityahu (מַתִּתְיָהוּ). It is built from mattan or mattat, meaning "gift," and a shortened form of the divine name Yah (Yahweh). The literal sense is therefore "gift of Yahweh," commonly rendered in English as "gift of God." The same Hebrew name also took the Greek forms Ματθαῖος (Matthew) and Ματθίας (Matthias), so the three English names share a root even though they are distinct forms.
Mattathias Name History & Origins
The Hebrew name Mattityahu is older than the Greek form. It appears in the Hebrew Bible in the related spelling Mattithiah, borne by several minor figures: a Levite in 1 Chronicles, a man listed among those who had married foreign wives in Ezra 10, and a leader who stood beside Ezra at the public reading of the Law in Nehemiah 8.
The best-known bearer is the priest Mattathias, head of the Hasmonean family of Modiin. According to 1 Maccabees, when a royal officer came to enforce sacrifice to the Greek gods under Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Mattathias refused, killed both the apostate Jew and the officer, and fled with his sons into the hills. This episode, set around 167 BCE, is presented as the beginning of the Maccabean revolt. His sons - Judas Maccabeus, Jonathan, Simon, John, and Eleazar - led the fighting and later founded the Hasmonean dynasty. The Greek form Ματταθίας comes from this text and from Greek-speaking Jewish usage.
The name appears twice in the genealogy of Jesus in Luke 3:25 - 26. Later bearers include Mattathias ben Theophilus, a high priest in the first century CE, and Mattathias Antigonus, the last Hasmonean king. Through the Septuagint and the Greek New Testament the form Mattathias passed into Latin and then into English biblical usage, while the Hebrew Matityahu remained in use in Jewish communities and is still a Hebrew given name.
How Popular is the Name Mattathias?
Mattathias has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2024. Its best rank was #13,239 in 2025.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #13,239 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2024 | #13,477 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Mattathias Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have psychic power. You can carry on for others with joy. You have a receptive nature and may bear burdens for others. You are pragmatic, thorough, strong-willed, practical and stubborn at times. You are hard working, often martyr to duty. You like home and security above all. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
Dependable, very down-to-earth and well grounded, you are always looking for meaningful work, a career where you can take pride in your work and do the best job you are capable of. Your prime desire is to build protected and secure environment at home and at work. You can be very persuasive in achieving goals and gaining objectives. You can be very detailed and well-organized and possess great organizational skills. At times you may appear too stubborn and overly critical to others, but your practical approach to life and productivity makes you one of the most beneficent members of community.
✦ Mattathias's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Mattathias's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.