Matthew
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin. From earlier Matheu, from Old French Mathieu, from Latin Matthaeus, from Ancient Greek Ματθαῖος (Matthaîos), from Aramaic מַתַּי (mattay). Compare Hebrew מַתִּתְיָהוּ (mattiṯyāhū, literally “gift of the Lord”). Doublet of Mattathias.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Matthew (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Matthew has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2017. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 6 |
| 2005 | 8 |
| 2006 | 4 |
| 2007 | 5 |
| 2008 | 7 |
| 2009 | 4 |
| 2010 | 7 |
| 2011 | 8 |
| 2012 | 9 |
| 2013 | 9 |
| 2014 | 3 |
| 2015 | 6 |
| 2016 | 7 |
| 2017 | 13 |
| 2018 | 12 |
| 2019 | 12 |
| 2020 | 8 |
| 2021 | 12 |
| 2022 | 7 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 170 |
| 2000 | 190 |
| 2001 | 210 |
| 2002 | 235 |
| 2003 | 253 |
| 2004 | 271 |
| 2005 | 294 |
| 2006 | 300 |
| 2007 | 322 |
| 2008 | 356 |
| 2009 | 387 |
| 2010 | 413 |
| 2011 | 450 |
| 2012 | 491 |
| 2013 | 527 |
| 2014 | 560 |
| 2015 | 602 |
| 2016 | 639 |
| 2017 | 694 |
| 2018 | 752 |
| 2019 | 799 |
| 2020 | 836 |
Matthew in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Matthew.Hi! My name is Matthew.
- Matthew ringde och sa att han blir lite sen.Matthew called and said he'll be a bit late.
- Jag ska fika med Matthew i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Matthew this afternoon.
- Matthews mamma är lärare.Matthew's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Matthews mamma is Matthew's mum.
More names
Questions about Matthew
How do you pronounce Matthew in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Matthew in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Matthew mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin. From earlier Matheu, from Old French Mathieu, from Latin Matthaeus, from Ancient Greek Ματθαῖος (Matthaîos), from Aramaic מַתַּי (mattay). Compare Hebrew מַתִּתְיָהוּ (mattiṯyāhū, literally “gift of the Lord”). Doublet of Mattathias.
How popular is Matthew in Sweden?
7 babies were named Matthew in 2022. In 2020, 836 people in Sweden had Matthew as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2017 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.