Fun Facts About the Name Matthieu
- More than 1 thousand babies named Matthieu: U.S. records list 1,056 babies given the name Matthieu from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Matthieu Mean?
Matthieu is the French form of the name known in English as Matthew. Its meaning, "gift of God," is a customary translation of the Hebrew name Mattityahu (מַתִּתְיָהוּ), which combines mattan, "gift," with Yah, a shortened form of the divine name YHWH. Read strictly, the Hebrew means "gift of Yahweh," and "gift of God" is the traditional rendering used in most European languages. The name reached French through Latin Matthaeus, itself from Greek Maththaios (Μαθθαῖος) or Matthaios (Ματθαῖος), the form used in the Greek New Testament. Matthieu is therefore a variant of the same ancient name as Matthew and Matthias's relative Mattathias, not a distinct coinage.
Matthieu Name History & Origins
The Hebrew name Mattityahu appears in the Hebrew Bible for a priest who returned from the Babylonian exile and is associated with the reforms recorded in Ezra and Nehemiah. The name was also borne by the Hasmonean priest Mattathias, father of Judas Maccabeus, whose family led the revolt against Seleucid rule in the second century BCE. In the New Testament, the Greek form Maththaios names the tax collector called by Jesus and traditionally regarded as the author of the first Gospel.
From Greek the name passed into Latin as Matthaeus, the form used by the Latin Church and the source of most western European versions. In medieval France it became Mathieu, the standard Old French spelling, which modern French writes as Matthieu. The name was carried widely through Christian Europe by devotion to Saint Matthew the Evangelist, and French records show Mathieu and Matthieu in regular use from the Middle Ages onward. Its English counterpart, Matthew, followed a separate line of development from the same Latin source. Other related forms include Spanish Mateo, Italian Matteo, and German Matthias or Matthäus.
How Popular is the Name Matthieu?
Matthieu 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 1998. Its best rank was #2,431 in 1998.
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 | #7,501 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2024 | #7,080 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2023 | #6,112 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2022 | #4,383 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 2021 | #6,217 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2020 | #5,384 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 2019 | #4,426 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2018 | #4,312 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 2017 | #5,228 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2016 | #4,714 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 2015 | #3,951 | 27 | 0.0014% |
| 2014 | #3,584 | 30 | 0.0016% |
| 2013 | #3,718 | 28 | 0.0015% |
| 2012 | #3,339 | 33 | 0.0017% |
| 2011 | #3,750 | 28 | 0.0015% |
| 2010 | #3,353 | 33 | 0.0017% |
| 2009 | #3,791 | 28 | 0.0014% |
| 2008 | #3,199 | 36 | 0.0018% |
| 2007 | #4,317 | 23 | 0.0011% |
| 2006 | #4,064 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 2005 | #3,585 | 27 | 0.0014% |
| 2004 | #3,421 | 28 | 0.0014% |
| 2003 | #3,691 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 2002 | #3,420 | 26 | 0.0013% |
| 2001 | #3,290 | 27 | 0.0014% |
| 2000 | #4,019 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 1999 | #2,993 | 28 | 0.0015% |
| 1998 | #2,431 | 36 | 0.0019% |
| 1997 | #2,658 | 30 | 0.0016% |
| 1996 | #3,360 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1995 | #3,395 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 1994 | #3,848 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 1993 | #2,755 | 26 | 0.0013% |
| 1992 | #3,553 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 1991 | #3,189 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 1990 | #2,594 | 26 | 0.0013% |
| 1989 | #2,855 | 22 | 0.0011% |
| 1988 | #3,162 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 1987 | #3,156 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1986 | #2,850 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1985 | #3,725 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1984 | #2,669 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1983 | #2,871 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1982 | #2,925 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1981 | #3,765 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1980 | #4,377 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1979 | #6,704 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1978 | #4,419 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1977 | #4,936 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1976 | #4,269 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1974 | #5,721 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1971 | #5,387 | 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 Matthieu 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.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Matthieu's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Matthieu's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.