Popularity of the name Matthew, 1880–2025
Matthew was at its most popular in 1983, when 50,209 boys were given the name: about 1 in 36 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #3. In 2025, 7,003 boys were named Matthew, ranking #32. In all, Social Security counts 1,654,075 boys named Matthew since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 5,580 girls named Matthew.
- Peak year
- 1983
- Rank in 1983
- #3
- Babies in 1983
- 50,209
- Rank in 2025
- #32
- Total since 1880
- 1,654,075
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has slipped from #15 in 2015 to #32 in 2025, with 12,785 boys named Matthew in 2015 and 7,003 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Matthew ranked highest in the 1980s, at #3, with 458,951 boys given the name that decade. It ranked #127 in the 1880s and #35 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 113 in 1880 (#116), 130 in 1900 (#161), 967 in 1920 (#151), 664 in 1940 (#198), 6,925 in 1960 (#61), 37,834 in 1980 (#6), 28,580 in 2000 (#3) and 8,142 in 2020 (#30).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 50,209, in 1983. Its best rank in any year was #2, first reached in 1995.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Matthew, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 113 | #116 |
| 1881 | 80 | #154 |
| 1882 | 109 | #127 |
| 1883 | 86 | #152 |
| 1884 | 117 | #123 |
| 1885 | 111 | #123 |
| 1886 | 112 | #123 |
| 1887 | 108 | #123 |
| 1888 | 114 | #136 |
| 1889 | 118 | #118 |
| 1890 | 86 | #164 |
| 1891 | 113 | #122 |
| 1892 | 132 | #128 |
| 1893 | 108 | #138 |
| 1894 | 124 | #131 |
| 1895 | 112 | #139 |
| 1896 | 123 | #136 |
| 1897 | 100 | #156 |
| 1898 | 133 | #135 |
| 1899 | 101 | #150 |
| 1900 | 130 | #161 |
| 1901 | 89 | #167 |
| 1902 | 104 | #167 |
| 1903 | 102 | #166 |
| 1904 | 97 | #185 |
| 1905 | 107 | #177 |
| 1906 | 136 | #150 |
| 1907 | 124 | #174 |
| 1908 | 152 | #155 |
| 1909 | 147 | #166 |
| 1910 | 197 | #158 |
| 1911 | 220 | #152 |
| 1912 | 380 | #156 |
| 1913 | 491 | #151 |
| 1914 | 613 | #151 |
| 1915 | 798 | #150 |
| 1916 | 825 | #148 |
| 1917 | 862 | #149 |
| 1918 | 963 | #148 |
| 1919 | 879 | #152 |
| 1920 | 967 | #151 |
| 1921 | 914 | #161 |
| 1922 | 982 | #159 |
| 1923 | 935 | #163 |
| 1924 | 850 | #171 |
| 1925 | 840 | #174 |
| 1926 | 777 | #185 |
| 1927 | 790 | #183 |
| 1928 | 784 | #182 |
| 1929 | 727 | #189 |
| 1930 | 657 | #204 |
| 1931 | 608 | #208 |
| 1932 | 702 | #188 |
| 1933 | 581 | #201 |
| 1934 | 610 | #202 |
| 1935 | 654 | #195 |
| 1936 | 608 | #202 |
| 1937 | 605 | #201 |
| 1938 | 608 | #205 |
| 1939 | 622 | #201 |
| 1940 | 664 | #198 |
| 1941 | 727 | #198 |
| 1942 | 842 | #189 |
| 1943 | 822 | #197 |
| 1944 | 765 | #195 |
| 1945 | 730 | #198 |
| 1946 | 892 | #194 |
| 1947 | 1,045 | #196 |
| 1948 | 1,054 | #190 |
| 1949 | 1,219 | #176 |
| 1950 | 1,299 | #174 |
| 1951 | 1,605 | #163 |
| 1952 | 2,032 | #142 |
| 1953 | 2,374 | #130 |
| 1954 | 2,688 | #124 |
| 1955 | 3,279 | #105 |
| 1956 | 4,366 | #90 |
| 1957 | 5,234 | #83 |
| 1958 | 6,377 | #60 |
| 1959 | 6,542 | #63 |
| 1960 | 6,925 | #61 |
| 1961 | 7,081 | #59 |
| 1962 | 7,279 | #56 |
| 1963 | 8,034 | #50 |
| 1964 | 8,981 | #43 |
| 1965 | 9,982 | #36 |
| 1966 | 10,803 | #34 |
| 1967 | 13,568 | #28 |
| 1968 | 15,823 | #24 |
| 1969 | 17,462 | #24 |
| 1970 | 20,185 | #24 |
| 1971 | 22,543 | #19 |
| 1972 | 22,928 | #10 |
| 1973 | 24,531 | #10 |
| 1974 | 27,194 | #9 |
| 1975 | 28,527 | #9 |
| 1976 | 29,951 | #9 |
| 1977 | 31,965 | #9 |
| 1978 | 34,282 | #6 |
| 1979 | 35,621 | #6 |
| 1980 | 37,834 | #6 |
| 1981 | 43,330 | #3 |
| 1982 | 46,045 | #3 |
| 1983 | 50,209 | #3 |
| 1984 | 49,767 | #3 |
| 1985 | 47,075 | #3 |
| 1986 | 46,929 | #3 |
| 1987 | 46,511 | #3 |
| 1988 | 45,876 | #3 |
| 1989 | 45,375 | #3 |
| 1990 | 44,826 | #3 |
| 1991 | 41,647 | #3 |
| 1992 | 37,733 | #3 |
| 1993 | 35,782 | #3 |
| 1994 | 33,654 | #3 |
| 1995 | 32,882 | #2 |
| 1996 | 32,077 | #2 |
| 1997 | 31,517 | #3 |
| 1998 | 31,146 | #3 |
| 1999 | 30,418 | #3 |
| 2000 | 28,580 | #3 |
| 2001 | 26,812 | #3 |
| 2002 | 25,154 | #4 |
| 2003 | 24,011 | #4 |
| 2004 | 22,882 | #4 |
| 2005 | 21,483 | #4 |
| 2006 | 20,339 | #5 |
| 2007 | 18,756 | #9 |
| 2008 | 17,604 | #10 |
| 2009 | 16,010 | #13 |
| 2010 | 14,148 | #16 |
| 2011 | 14,184 | #12 |
| 2012 | 13,993 | #12 |
| 2013 | 13,364 | #15 |
| 2014 | 12,944 | #16 |
| 2015 | 12,785 | #15 |
| 2016 | 12,665 | #15 |
| 2017 | 11,732 | #16 |
| 2018 | 10,009 | #20 |
| 2019 | 9,277 | #23 |
| 2020 | 8,142 | #30 |
| 2021 | 7,489 | #36 |
| 2022 | 7,077 | #39 |
| 2023 | 7,234 | #32 |
| 2024 | 7,107 | #33 |
| 2025 | 7,003 | #32 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.