Matthew

/ˈmæθjuː/

//ˈmæθjuː// name

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"matthew" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Matthew” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,827. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,827
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.

Corpus desk

Index EN-matthew · Matthew · English

Matthew · rank #3,827 · 9 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,827
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH log

Nearest frequency peer: log (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “Matthew”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “Matthew” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Matthew vs Mattie
71% similar
Matthew vs Mayhew
71% similar
Matthew vs Matthews
88% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Matthew
PropertyValue
HeadwordMatthew
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈmæθjuː/
Letters7
Frequency rank#3,827
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Matthew”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).Matthewlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “log” (#3,826), “merely” (#3,828), “legacy” (#3,825). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “Matthew” is #3,827. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around Matthew (IPA /ˈmæθjuː/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #3,827 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for Matthew, with forms such as "amtthew", "mathew", and "mathtew". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "Mattie", "Mayhew", "Matthews", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From earlier Matheu, from Old French Mathieu, from Latin Matthaeus, from Ancient Greek Ματθαῖος (Matthaîos), from Aramaic מַתַּי (mattay). Compare Hebrew מַתִּתְיָהוּ (mattiṯyāhū, literally “gift of the Lord”). Doublet of Mattathias. The correct English form is Matthew, spelled M-A-T-T-H-E-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.
  2. 2
    A surname originating as a patronymic.
  3. 3
    Matthew the Evangelist, one of the twelve Apostles. A publican or tax-collector at Capernaum and credited with the authorship of the Gospel of Matthew.
  4. 4
    The Gospel of St. Matthew, the first book of the New Testament of the Bible. Traditionally the first of the four gospels, a book attributed to Matthew the Evangelist.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Matthew appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. - - - My name is Matthew Bramble, at your service. The truth is, I have a foolish pique at the name of Matthew, because it savours of those canting hypocrites, who in Cromwell's time, christened all their children by names taken from the Scripture."
  2. People with incorruptible names like Matthew are always calling people named Charles, Charlie. I wish my folks had named me Matthew. Matt is the worst that can be made of it.

Etymology

From earlier Matheu, from Old French Mathieu, from Latin Matthaeus, from Ancient Greek Ματθαῖος (Matthaîos), from Aramaic מַתַּי (mattay). Compare Hebrew מַתִּתְיָהוּ (mattiṯyāhū, literally “gift of the Lord”). Doublet of Mattathias.

This word in other languages

Mateo(Español)Matthieu(Français)Matthias(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • amtthew
  • mathew
  • mathtew
  • mattehw
  • mattheww
  • matthhew
  • matthwe
  • mmatthew
  • mtathew

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Matthew - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

amtthew2mathew1mathtew2mattehw2mattheww1matthhew1matthwe2mmatthew1
Edit distance from "Matthew"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Matthew"?
"Matthew" is spelled M-A-T-T-H-E-W. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmæθjuː/.
What does "Matthew" mean?
As a proper noun, "Matthew" means: A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.
What words are commonly confused with "Matthew"?
"Matthew" is commonly confused with "Mattie", "Mayhew", "Matthews". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Matthew"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Matthew" is /ˈmæθjuː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "Matthew"?
From earlier Matheu, from Old French Mathieu, from Latin Matthaeus, from Ancient Greek Ματθαῖος (Matthaîos), from Aramaic מַתַּי (mattay). Compare Hebrew מַתִּתְיָהוּ (mattiṯyāhū, literally “gift of the Lord”). Doublet of Mattathias. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Matthew", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

monitor#3,829Patrick#3,832genuine#3,811reverse#3,843

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

merely9 variantslegacy9 variantsKansas9 variantshunter9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list