| John | Matthew | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | God is gracious | gift of Yahweh |
| Origin | Hebrew | hebrew |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | JON | MATH-yoo |
| Syllables | 1 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1880 |
| Peak year | 1947 (88,324) | 1983 (50,209) |
| In 2025 | 8,027 | 7,003 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | John | Matthew |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 48,370 | 44,052 |
| 2010s | 102,800 | 125,101 |
| 2000s | 161,104 | 221,631 |
| 1990s | 240,151 | 351,682 |
| 1980s | 321,150 | 458,951 |
| 1970s | 402,612 | 277,727 |
| 1960s | 713,394 | 105,938 |
| 1950s | 797,922 | 35,796 |
| 1940s | 711,614 | 8,760 |
| 1930s | 487,950 | 6,255 |
| 1920s | 564,052 | 8,566 |
| 1910s | 376,311 | 6,228 |
| 1900s | 84,590 | 1,188 |
| 1890s | 80,664 | 1,132 |
| 1880s | 89,949 | 1,068 |
John comes from the Hebrew Yochanan, “Yahweh is gracious.” The most widespread of all Christian names, it was carried by John the Baptist and the apostle John, and appears in nearly every European language.
English form of the Hebrew name Mattityahu (Mattathias), from mattath 'gift' + yah, a short form of the divine name Yahweh. The structure is 'gift of God': 'gift' + the name of God.
John is more popular than Matthew today: about 8,027 US babies were given the name John in 2025, compared with 7,003 named Matthew.
John means God is gracious (Hebrew origin), while Matthew means gift of Yahweh (hebrew origin).
In US records, John first appears in 1880 and Matthew in 1880, so John has the longer recorded history.