Matthew (given name)
male given name
Matthew is an English language masculine given name. It ultimately derives from the Hebrew name "מַתִּתְיָהוּ" (Matityahu).
Etymology
The Hebrew name מַתִּתְיָהוּ (Matityahu) was transliterated into Greek as Ματταθίας (Mattathias). It was subsequently superseded by Ματθαῖος (Matthaios); this was Latinised as Matthaeus, which became Matthew in English. The popularity of the name is due to Matthew the Apostle, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and the traditional author of the Gospel of Matthew.
Maiú and Maidiú were both a borrowing of the name Matthew among the Anglo-Normans settlers in Ireland. Maitiú is the most common Irish form of the name. Matthew is also used as an anglicisation of the Irish name Mathúin (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 10th most popular male name in 2007.
“Matthew (given name)” enters the record as male given name. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Matthew, given and name can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Matthew (given name)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Matthew, given and name provides the most credible route into that argument.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4927231. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2007.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Matthew (given name)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Matthew (given name) primary sources, Matthew (given name) archive and Matthew research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Matthew (given name)”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Matthew (given name)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.