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Matthew

Boy name · 14,458 babies recorded · 1974–2025

Matthew: 14,458 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to boys, peaking at 509 births in 1997.

Of Hebrew origin, Matthew means "gift of Yahweh," derived from the biblical name Mattityahu. It was borne by one of Jesus's twelve apostles, Levi the tax collector, who was renamed Matthew and traditionally credited as the author of the first Gospel. The name gained immense popularity across the Christian world, and notable bearers include the actor Matthew McConaughey and the Scottish actor Matthew Macfadyen. There are no major world cities named directly after Matthew, though countless churches bear the name of Saint Matthew. A striking variant is the Scottish Gaelic form, Mata, which remains in occasional use today, while the name has seen a steady yet gentle decline in Scottish baby name charts since its peak in the 1980s.