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Matthew (given name)

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Matthew
GenderMale
Origin
Word/nameHebrew
Meaning"Gift of God"
Other names
Alternative spellingMathew
Nickname(s)Matt, Mat, Matty, Mattie, Macey,[1] Hew
UsageCommon in the English-speaking world[2]
Related namesMatthias, Mathias, Matthews, Mathews
Popularitysee popular names

Matthew (/[invalid input: 'icon']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 of Jesus in Christian Theology, and is the author of the Gospel of Matthew,.[3][4][5][6]

The Hebrew name "מַתִּתְיָהוּ‎" (Matityahu) was transliterated into Greek to "Ματταθίας" (Mattathias),[7] 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).[8] The Greek Ματθαῖος was Latinised as Matthaeus, which became Matthew in English. It is commonly shortened to Matt, or especially in Ireland, Matty.[citation needed]

The name is also sometimes used as an anglicisation of the Irish name Mathúin, meaning bear.[9][10]

The name Matthew became popular during the Middle Ages in North-West Europe, and appears in many European languages. The name has been very common throughout the English-speaking world since the 1970s.[2] 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 the Republic of 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]

Translations in other languages

  • French: Mathieu, Matthieu; Mathias, Matthias; Mathis, Matthis
  • German: Matthias, Mathias, Matthäus
  • [Матвей (Matvej), Матфей (Matfej)(archaic), Мотя (Motja), Мотка (Motka)] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)

References

  1. ^ http://www.ourbabynamer.com/meaning-of-Matthew.html
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ Information on the name Matthew
  4. ^ Information on the name Matthew (2)
  5. ^ Gospel of Matthew (Authorship and Sources)
  6. ^ The Lives (Matthew)
  7. ^ Luk 3:25 and Luk 3:26
  8. ^ θεῖος. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
  9. ^ Information on the name Matthew (3)
  10. ^ Irish Names: Matthew
  11. ^ Most popular Irish male names in Ireland
  12. ^ Most popular Irish names in Ireland (Detailed version)
  13. ^ Popularity of the name
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