Matthew (name)
| Matthew | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Origin | |
| Word/Name | Hebrew |
| Meaning | "Gift of God" |
| Other names | |
| Nickname(s) | Matt, Matty/Mattie, Mat, Hew |
| Usage | Common in the English-speaking world[1] |
| Popularity | see popular names |
 |
Look up Matthew in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Matthew (
/ˈmæθjuː/; MATH-yoo) is a given name that ultimately comes from the Hebrew name Matityahu. It was first named to Saint Matthew, who was one of the twelve disciples and credited with the authorship of the Gospel of Matthew.[2][3] It is commonly shortened to Matt, or especially in Ireland, Matty.[citation needed]
The Hebrew name "מתיתיהו" (Matityahu) was transliterated into Greek to "Ματταθίας" (Mattathias),[4] which was shortened to "Ματθαῖος" – (Matthaios). Deceptively, it is therefore unrelated to θεῖος (theios) meaning divine (adjective, e.g. theology) or sulfur (Koine noun, e.g. thiol group).[5] The Greek Ματθαῖος was Latinised as Matthaeus, which became Matthew in English.
Matthew has been recognised as an Irish name, as when Ireland was converted to Christianity by Saint Patrick, there has been a persistent preference for Christian, Hebrew and Aramaic names,[6][7] with the name translating into the Irish spelling Maitiú (pronounced "MATT-chew") to emphasise its importance in Irish culture.[8] Matthew is used as an Anglicisation of the Irish name Mathúin, meaning bear.[9][10]
The name Matthew globally became in use during the Middle Ages. Due to its popularity in North-West Europe, it is used vastly in various countries, and is even distinguished in many European languages. The name has been very common throughout the English-speaking world since the 1970s.[1] Matthew has been one of the 1,000 most popular male names in Australia, Canada and United States. In Great Britain, Matthew has been in the top 100 most popular male names. Currently, it is the 15th most popular name in Ireland.[11][12] In the United Kingdom, it was among the 10 most popular male names through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and was ninth as recently as 2001, but by 2009 had fallen to 38th.[13]
[edit] Translations in other languages
- Afrikaans: Mattheus (Matie)
- Arabic: متى (Mattà)
- Aramaic: ܡܬܝ (Mattai)
- Armenian: Մատթէոս (Mathios)
- Azerbaijani: Matta, Mətta
- Belarusian: Мацей (Maciej)
- Bulgarian: Матей (Matej)
- Catalan: Mateu
- Croatian: Matej, Matija, Teo, Mate
- Czech: Matěj, Matyáš, Matouš
- Danish: Mads, Mathias
- Dutch: Matthijs, Mathijs, Mattijs, Mattheus, Matthias
- English: Matthew, Mathew, Matthias, Matt, Matty, Mattie
- Old English: Mattheus[citation needed]
- Esperanto: Mateo
- Estonian: Madis, Mati
- Finnish: Matias, Matti
- French: Mathieu, Matthieu; Mathias, Matthias; Mathis, Matthis
- Georgian: მათე (Matte)
- German: Matthias, Mathias, Matthäus
- Greek: Ματθαίος (Matthaios)
- Koine Greek: Ματθαῖος (Matthaios)
- Hebrew: מתתיהו ,מתיתיהו (Matityahu)
- Hungarian: Máté, Mátyás
- Icelandic: Matthías, Matti
- Irish: Maitiú, Maitias
- Italian: Matteo, Mattia
- Japanese: マシュー (Mashū)
- Korean: 매튜 (maetyu), 마태(matae)
- Latin: Matthæus, Matthias
- Latvian: Matīss, Matejs
- Lithuanian: Matas, Motiejus
- Macedonian: Матеј (Matej)
- Malayalam: മത്തായി (Maththaayi)
- Polish: Maciej, Mateusz
- Portuguese: Matias, Mathias (archaic); Mateus, Matheus (archaic)'
- Romanian: Matei
- Russian: Матвей (Matvej), Матфей (Matfej)(archaic), Мотя (Motja), Мотка (Motka)
- Serbian: Матија (Matija)
- Slovak: Matúš, Matej
- Swahili: Matayo
- Scottish Gaelic: Matha, Mata
- Spanish: Matias, Matheo, Mateo, Matejo, Teo
- Swedish: Mats, Mattias, Mathias
- Slovene: Matej, Matevž, Matjaž
- Turkish: Matta, Mete
- Telugu: మట్టయ్య(Mattayya)
- Ukrainian: Матей (Matej), Матвій (Matvij), Матвіко (Matviko)
- Venetian: Mateo
- Welsh: Mathew
[edit] References
- ^ a b Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006), A Dictionary of First Names, Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press, pp. 188–189, ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1
- ^ Information on the name Matthew
- ^ Information on the name Matthew (2)
- ^ Luk 3:25 and Luk 3:26
- ^ θεῖος. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at Perseus Project
- ^ List of Irish Names
- ^ Usage of names in Ireland
- ^ Matthew translated into the Irish spelling
- ^ Information on the name Matthew (3)
- ^ Irish Names: Matthew
- ^ Most popular Irish male names in Ireland
- ^ Most popular Irish names in Ireland (Detailed version)
- ^ Popularity of the name
