Matthew (given name)
Matthew is an English language given name. It ultimately derives from the Hebrew name "" which means "Gift of Yahweh".Etymology
The Hebrew name "" was transliterated into Greek to "Ματταθίας". It was subsequently shortened to Greek "Ματθαῖος" ; 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.
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 , meaning bear.Popularity
The name Matthew became popular during the Middle Ages in Northwest Europe, and has been very common throughout the English-speaking world.
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. In 2016, it was the 29th most popular male name in Ireland, rising to 26th in 2017.
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.
