Matilda
Matilda was the 365th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 838 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 101st; the most babies were born in 2025 (838). Over the last ten years it has moved up 172 places. More babies were named Matilda in the 1910s than in any other decade.
Meaning might + battle · Germanic
Say it muh-TIL-duh /məˈtɪldə/
- Rank in 2025
- #365 girls, up 113 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 838girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2025838 babies
- Total since 1880
- 37,280babies recorded
What does the name Matilda mean?
Matilda comes from the Germanic name Mahthild, from maht, "might, strength", and hiltja, "battle", as DMNES gives under Mathilda. It came to England with Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror, and DMNES lists several English queens of the name; the English short form was Maud. The Random House dictionary notes Empress Matilda (Maud), daughter of Henry I.
maht (Old High German, “might, strength”)hiltja (Old High German, “battle”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Maud, Mathilda, Tilly, Mattie.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean strength, names that mean warrior.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Matilda', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Mathilda', DMNES, Durham University
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'Matilda', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
Nicknames for Matilda
The usual nicknames for Matilda are Tilly, Mattie, Tilda and Maud. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Matilda in the last five years, 34 were named Tilly, against 12 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tilly | Traditional | #885 | 1,286 |
| Mattie · also for Martha | Modern | #1,005 | 1,207 |
| Tilda | Traditional | #6,806 | 89 |
| Maud | Traditional | — | 12 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Matildas go by each one.
Matilda popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 10 since 1885.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #365 | 838 |
| 2020 | #478 | 640 |
| 2010 | #799 | 343 |
| 2000 | #2,097 | 78 |
| 1990 | #3,780 | 28 |
| 1980 | #2,518 | 38 |
| 1970 | #1,325 | 80 |
| 1960 | #983 | 119 |
| 1950 | #724 | 140 |
| 1940 | #555 | 155 |
| 1930 | #390 | 304 |
| 1920 | #261 | 635 |
| 1910 | #227 | 281 |
| 1900 | #161 | 348 |
| 1890 | #133 | 293 |
| 1880 | #101 | 210 |
How popular is Matilda, counting every spelling?
Matilda is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #380 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #365 for Matilda on its own. Together these spellings went to 870 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matilda | 838 | #365 | 3,750 |
| Mathilda | 32 | #4,423 | 170 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Matilda?
838 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Matilda (0.23 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Matilda born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 10 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Matilda.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Matilda?
About 15,600 people born in the US named Matilda are alive today, with a median age of 12; half are between 6 and 36. That makes Matilda a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Matilda by state
How common Matilda was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in South Dakota (3.5×), Oregon (3.2×), Minnesota (2.5×), Nebraska (2.3×), Utah (2.2×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Mississippi, Louisiana, Nevada.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Matilda: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Matilda, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Matilda
What does Matilda mean?
Matilda means “might + battle” (Germanic origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Matilda?
Matilda was the 365th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 838 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 101st; the most babies were born in 2025 (838). Over the last ten years it has moved up 172 places. More babies were named Matilda in the 1910s than in any other decade.
Is Matilda a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Matilda in the US.
Where is Matilda most popular?
In 2021–2025, Matilda was most common in South Dakota (1.61 per 1,000 girls), followed by Oregon and District of Columbia.