Mateo
Meaning of Mateo
Mateo is the Spanish form of Matthew, a name that derives from the Hebrew Mattityahu, commonly translated as gift of God or gift of Yahweh. Name dictionaries agree on this origin, and the same Hebrew source stands behind the Italian Matteo and the English Matthew. Mateo has been used in Spanish-speaking countries since the medieval period and remains a common given name there.
In Spanish it is pronounced mah-TAY-oh, with the stress on the middle syllable and a clear final vowel. The same pronunciation is usual in American and British English.
Among the best-known bearers are Mateo Alemán, the sixteenth-century Spanish novelist who wrote Guzmán de Alfarache, and Mateo Kovačić, the Croatian midfielder who has played for Manchester City and the Croatia national team.
Mateo's rise in the United States has been steep. In 1995 it was given to 125 boys and ranked 994th. By 2011 it had reached 171st, and in 2023 it climbed to 6th, its highest rank on record, with 11,293 births. In 2025 it was given to 11,045 boys and ranked 8th, placing it firmly among the country's ten most popular boys' names.
Pronunciation
Spanish
- Pronunced as mah-TAY-oh (/ma.ˈte.o̞ / )
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Mateo
| Mateo Kovačić - Mateo Kovacic is a Croatian midfielder for Manchester City and the Croatia national team. |
| Mateo de Toro Zambrano y Ureta, 1st Count of La Conquista, was a Spanish Criollo military and political leader, a knight of the Order of Santiago, and lord of the Toro Zambrano estate. |
| Mateo Restrepo Mejia is a former soccer player born in Colombia who represented Canada at the U17 and U18 levels. |
| Mateo Pavlović is a Croatian defender who most recently played for Rudeš on loan from Rijeka. |
| Mateo Garcia Pumacahua, also known as Pumakawa or Pumaqawa, was a Peruvian leader who turned from royalist commander to revolutionary and led the 1814 Cuzco Rebellion. |
| Mateo Romero was a Belgian-born Spanish Baroque composer who served as master of the royal chapel. |
| Mateo Alemán - Mateo Aleman y del Nero was a Spanish novelist. |
| Mateo Flecha el Joven was a Catalan composer and the nephew of Mateo Flecha the Elder. |
| Mateo De Angulo Velasco is a Colombian long-distance freestyle swimmer, the 2010 NJCAA Men's Swimmer of the Year and nine-time NJCAA champion, who holds Colombian records in all three long-distance freestyle events and helped Colombia win the 800 m freestyle relay at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games. |
| Mateo Romero is a Native American painter born in Berkeley, California and a member of the Cochiti Pueblo. |
| Mateo Hernández is an Argentine midfielder for Real Tomayapo. |
| Mateo Ramírez - Mateo Ramirez Montenegro is an Argentine midfielder for Deportivo Riestra. |
| Mateo Mejía - Jose Mateo Mejia Piedrahita is a professional footballer born in Spain who plays as a winger or forward for the Spanish club Burgos CF and represents Colombia at youth level. |
| Mateo Túnez Grau is a motorcycle road racer who won the 2005 Spanish 125cc Championship and competed in the 125cc World Championship in 2005 and 2006. |
| Mateo Arias, known as Teo, is a Los Angeles based American rapper and actor who starred in Kickin It and Blast Beat, released a 2018 debut album with over 50 million Spotify streams, and has collaborated with Jaden Smith and Post Malone. |
