Fun Facts About the Name Mattel
- 34 babies named Mattel: U.S. records list 34 babies given the name Mattel from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Mattel Mean?
Mattel is not a traditional personal name with an inherited etymology. It is best known as the name of the American toy company, where it was formed by joining two personal names: Matt, short for Harold "Matt" Matson, and El, from Elliot Handler. Because the word is a modern coinage rather than a name carried down through a language, it has no established root meaning apart from that combination. The same spelling also appears as a surname in Europe, but no single derivation for that surname is documented clearly enough to state a meaning for it.
Mattel Name History & Origins
Mattel came into use in 1945, when Ruth Handler, her husband Elliot Handler, and Harold "Matt" Matson started a small business in a garage in Los Angeles. The partners built the company name from their own names, taking Matt from Matson and El from Elliot. Matson soon sold his interest in the business, and the Handlers kept the name as the firm shifted from picture frames into toys. Under that name the company grew into one of the world's largest toy makers, known for products such as Barbie and Hot Wheels.
As a personal name, Mattel has no long history. It appears as a surname in Europe, and where it is used as a first name it is generally taken from that surname or from the well-known company rather than from an older naming tradition. No early written forms or step-by-step development between languages can be traced for it the way they can for older European names.
How Popular is the Name Mattel?
Mattel 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 #11,735 in 2024.
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 | #16,432 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2024 | #11,735 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2022 | #16,860 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2021 | #14,638 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2020 | #16,671 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2018 | #17,290 | 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 Mattel 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.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Mattel's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Mattel's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.