Matthew (English)
Where does "Matthew" come from?
The name 'Matthew' traces its roots to the Hebrew 'mattiṯyāhū', which literally means 'gift of the Lord'[3]. This name evolved through the Aramaic 'mattay'[1][2] and was adopted into Ancient Greek as 'matthaîos'[1][3]. From there, the name entered Latin as 'matthaeus'[1][3] and later transitioned into Old French as 'mathieu'[1]. By the time it reached English, it had arrived at its modern form, serving as both a given name and a patronymic surname[1]. 'Matthew' is also a doublet of the name 'mattathias', which shares the same underlying Hebrew etymology.
Open questions
- The transition from the Hebrew form to the Aramaic form is based on historical linguistic scholarship rather than direct documentary evidence. [2] [3]
Full etymology tree
- Matthew (English), 'A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.'
- inherited Matheu (Middle English)
- inherited Mathieu (Old French)
- inherited Matthaeus (Latin), 'a male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin'
- inherited Ματθαῖος (Matthaîos) (Ancient Greek), 'a male given name from Aramaic, equivalent to English Matthew (disciple of Jesus in Christianity)'
- inherited מתי (mattay) (Aramaic), 'Matthew'
- inherited מַתִּתְיָהוּ (Mattiṯyāhū) (Biblical Hebrew)
- inherited Ματθαῖος (Matthaîos) (Ancient Greek), 'a male given name from Aramaic, equivalent to English Matthew (disciple of Jesus in Christianity)'
- inherited Matthaeus (Latin), 'a male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin'
- inherited Mathieu (Old French)
- inherited Matheu (Middle English)
Ancestors
- Matthaeus (Latin)
- Ματθαῖος (Ancient Greek)
Cognates and doublets
- Mattathias (English)
Descendants and derived words
- St. Matthews (English)
Sources
- Matthew (English) - Wiktionary
- Ματθαῖος (Matthaîos) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
- Matthaeus (Latin) - Wiktionary
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris