Meaning and background
The story behind Matthew
Matthew is the traditional English form of the Greek Matthaios, ultimately related to a Hebrew name commonly interpreted as a gift from God. The New Testament apostle gives the name an important historical and religious association, but that heritage need not be why a dog owner chooses it. The two-syllable English pronunciation is conventional, and shorter Matt provides an obvious everyday alternative.
- Origin
- English form of Greek Matthaios, ultimately from Hebrew Mattithiah. Source
Try Matthew out loud
Everyday moments“Matthew, come here!”
Say it as you would on a walk or at home. Does it feel natural alongside your usual commands and other pets’ names?
About Matthew
Recorded as a dog’s name
Matthew appears in 6 dog licence records in the 2026 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/mæθju/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/mæθju/ · primary stress on syllable 1M AE1 TH Y UW0
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — extract_year 2026 — Dog licence periods, not unique dogs; NYC only. No owner-level fields retrieved.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.