Girl's name
Matilda
Say it muh-TIL-duh
Germanic origin might + battle
3 syllables
Where Matilda is loved, common and rare
Loved in Queensland and Victoria. Common across six German cities, England and Wales, Austria and six more places. Rare in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Canada and seven more places.
1 in 175 girls born in England and Wales in 2025
England and Wales 19thCologne 43rdBerlin 44th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 28 of the 40 official lists, among them England and Wales (19th), Cologne (43rd) and Berlin (44th).
Show all 28 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queensland state | 6th 2025 | 213 | rank only |
| Victoria state | 9th 2025 | 247 | rank only |
| New South Wales state | 16th 2025 | 239 | rank only |
| England and Wales | 19th 2025 | 1,449 | 1 in 175 |
| South Australia state | 20th 2025 | 50 | rank only |
| New Zealand | 21st 2025 | 102 | rank only |
| Cologne city | 43rd 2023 | 25 | about 1 in 246 |
| Berlin city | 44th 2023 | 57 | about 1 in 254 |
| Austria | 63rd 2025 | 123 | 1 in 290 |
| Munich city | 80th 2025 | 17 | about 1 in 247 |
| Scotland | 93rd 2025 | 47 | 1 in 381 |
| Switzerland | 99th 2025 | 70 | 1 in 486 |
| Ireland | 106th 2025 | 44 | 1 in 480 |
| Northern Ireland | 111th 2025 | 19 | 1 in 383 |
| British Columbia province | 128th 2023 | 23 | about 1 in 520 |
| Sweden | 143rd 2025 | 61 | about 1 in 659 |
| Norway | 150th 2025 | 34 | 1 in 641 |
| Italy | 164th 2024 | 142 | 1 in 1,262 |
| Catalonia region | 188th 2025 | 22 | 1 in 876 |
| Ontario province | 227th 2024 | 53 | about 1 in 1,028 |
| Poland | 321st 2025 | 13 | 1 in 9,214 |
| The Netherlands | 655th 2025 | 18 | about 1 in 3,390 |
| Quebec province | 775th 2025 | 5 | about 1 in 5,201 |
| France | 884th 2025 | 40 | 1 in 7,170 |
| Rostock city | 12th 2025 | 8 | about 1 in 123 |
| Leipzig city | 16th 2025 | 17 | about 1 in 154 |
| Finland | 21st 2025 | 146 | rank only |
| Bonn city | 65th 2025 | 9 | about 1 in 335 |
Rare, below the listed names: Spain, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Sources: Queensland Registry of BDM (Qld Open Data Portal) (Queensland); Registry of BDM Victoria (DataVic) (Victoria); NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages (Data.NSW) (New South Wales); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); SA Attorney-General's Department, Births, Deaths and Marriages (data.sa.gov.au) (South Australia); Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), SmartStart (New Zealand); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); Landeshauptstadt München, Statistisches Amt (opendata.muenchen.de) (Munich); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); NISRA (Northern Ireland); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); Statistics Norway (SSB) (Norway); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Idescat (Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya) (Catalonia); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock (opendata-hro.de) (Rostock); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig); Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV) (Finland); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn). How we count, and every source
About the name
Matilda came into English from Old French Mathilde, built from Old High German elements meaning 'might' and 'battle'.
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It has three syllables, muh-TIL-duh, and a lively rhythm. Tilly and Tilda are its natural short forms, Maud and Maude are older English forms of the same name, and Mathilda, Mathilde and Matilde are spellings used in other languages.
Matilda is a top-ten name in Queensland and Victoria and ranks high in New South Wales, and it is also well used in Finland. The French records first show it in 1969 and place its peak in 2020, and it is rising in three times as many places as it is falling.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- muh-TIL-duh, 3 syllables
- Meaning
might + battle
- Origin
- Germanic
- Other spellings
- Mathilda
- Maud
- Tilda
- Tilly
- Mathilde
- Matilde
- Tilde
- Matylda
- Maude
- Maudie
- Mattie
- Matty
- Tillie
- Mechthild
- Mechtylda
- Mafalda
- Mat
- Matild
- Mechtilde
Etymology
Borrowed from Old French Mathilde, from Old High German maht, meht (“might”) + hild, hilta (“battle”).
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 9 of 25 regions, falling in 3.
Show the yearsShow less
Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 25 | 27 | 31 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 19 |
| Scotland | 94 | 78 | 77 | 85 | 100 | 121 | 87 | 102 | 148 | 93 |
| Northern Ireland | 123 | 91 | 114 | 144 | 95 | 108 | 93 | 102 | 110 | 111 |
| Ireland | 97 | 106 | 120 | 127 | 132 | 104 | 128 | 122 | 110 | 106 |
| Ontario | 346 | 229 | 386 | 309 | 282 | 292 | 177 | 250 | 227 | |
| British Columbia | 223 | 184 | 143 | 305 | 197 | 202 | 286 | 128 | ||
| New South Wales | 21 | 25 | 21 | 15 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 16 |
| Victoria | 17 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 |
| Queensland | 19 | 24 | 14 | 10 | 16 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| South Australia | 18 | 26 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 20 |
| New Zealand | 24 | 33 | 30 | 26 | 24 | 20 | 31 | 27 | 29 | 21 |
| Quebec | 601 | 707 | 601 | 913 | 575 | 722 | 630 | 684 | 775 | |
| France | 992 | 776 | 773 | 801 | 667 | 1006 | 829 | 932 | 721 | 884 |
| The Netherlands | 788 | 613 | 633 | 884 | 816 | 833 | 648 | 714 | 655 | |
| Austria | 84 | 82 | 76 | 66 | 66 | 82 | 70 | 70 | 72 | 63 |
| Switzerland | 128 | 119 | 135 | 104 | 94 | 176 | 133 | 159 | 119 | 99 |
| Berlin | 41 | 54 | 45 | 48 | 45 | 74 | 42 | 44 | ||
| Munich | 33 | 60 | 37 | 53 | 44 | 42 | 76 | 45 | 39 | 80 |
| Cologne | 47 | 51 | 28 | 71 | 66 | 29 | 48 | 43 | ||
| Bonn | 55 | 74 | 44 | 50 | 69 | 38 | 63 | 77 | 66 | 65 |
| Leipzig | 51 | 20 | 70 | 36 | 87 | 22 | 52 | 64 | 47 | 16 |
| Rostock | 31 | 18 | 39 | 22 | 62 | 76 | 13 | 35 | 18 | 12 |
| Norway | 156 | 229 | 269 | 171 | 217 | 212 | 197 | 144 | 198 | 150 |
| Sweden | 75 | 91 | 97 | 109 | 119 | 130 | 153 | 139 | 117 | 143 |
| Finland | 26 | 35 | 28 | 24 | 21 | |||||
| Catalonia | 288 | 327 | 343 | 543 | 306 | 269 | 361 | 256 | 227 | 188 |
| Italy | 164 | 171 | 179 | 173 | 184 | 164 | 170 | 173 | 164 | |
| Poland | 230 | 257 | 301 | 309 | 408 | 285 | 419 | 304 | 292 | 321 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 19 | 1,449 | 572.1 |
| 2024 | 31 | 1,220 | 472.9 |
| 2023 | 30 | 1,212 | 472.4 |
| 2022 | 29 | 1,363 | 517.2 |
| 2021 | 28 | 1,437 | 524.4 |
| 2020 | 29 | 1,401 | 522.0 |
| 2019 | 30 | 1,563 | 558.1 |
| 2018 | 31 | 1,618 | 561.3 |
| 2017 | 27 | 1,736 | 580.4 |
| 2016 | 25 | 1,915 | 623.5 |
| 2015 | 27 | 1,774 | 576.1 |
| 2014 | 36 | 1,440 | 469.6 |
| 2013 | 36 | 1,446 | 468.8 |
| 2012 | 47 | 1,284 | 398.7 |
| 2011 | 48 | 1,225 | 381.2 |
| 2010 | 53 | 1,273 | 396.5 |
| 2009 | 46 | 1,285 | 410.0 |
| 2008 | 43 | 1,418 | 449.1 |
| 2007 | 62 | 981 | 320.5 |
| 2006 | 70 | 848 | 283.4 |
| 2005 | 89 | 620 | 215.1 |
| 2004 | 107 | 494 | 172.8 |
| 2003 | 122 | 409 | 146.8 |
| 2002 | 127 | 369 | 138.0 |
| 2001 | 136 | 330 | 123.1 |
| 2000 | 143 | 323 | 118.2 |
| 1999 | 158 | 282 | 100.1 |
| 1998 | 174 | 249 | 86.1 |
| 1997 | 177 | 250 | 85.3 |
| 1996 | 211 | 200 | 67.6 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
France since 1925
Half of the babies named Matilda in France since 1925 were born in or after 2014. First recorded in 1969. Her peak year there: 2020, at 21.2 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Matilda per 100,000 girls born in France, by five-year period. Her 2020 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (1900-2025), Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.
Sister names for Matilda
1 in 108 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Matilda.
1 in 197 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Matilda.
1 in 140 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Matilda.
1 in 88 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Matilda.
1 in 166 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Matilda.
1 in 208 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Matilda.
1 in 127 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Matilda.
1 in 436 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Matilda.
1 in 347 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Matilda.
1 in 459 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Matilda.
Middle names for Matilda
1 in 107 in Northern Ireland
Matilda Charlotte
3-2 beats · initials MC
Changes the beat after Matilda: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 86 in Ireland
Matilda Sophie
3-2 beats · initials MS
Changes the beat after Matilda: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Matilda Grace
3-1 beats · initials MG
Changes the beat after Matilda: 3 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Matilda Olivia
3-4 beats · initials MO · Matilda slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Matilda: 3 syllables, then 4 syllables. Matilda slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 132 in Northern Ireland
Matilda Ruby
3-2 beats · initials MR
Changes the beat after Matilda: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Matilda Rose
3-1 beats · initials MR
Changes the beat after Matilda: 3 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 102 in Ireland
Matilda Mia
3-2 beats · initials MM
Changes the beat after Matilda: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
1 in 173 in Northern Ireland
Matilda Nora
3-2 beats · initials MN
Changes the beat after Matilda: 3 syllables, then 2 syllables.
Same style as Matilda
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 166 in England and Wales
96% alike: moves with Matilda across countries and decades.
1 in 189 in Ireland
94% alike: moves with Matilda across countries and decades.
1 in 436 in Scotland
94% alike: moves with Matilda across countries and decades.
1 in 88 in Scotland
94% alike: moves with Matilda across countries and decades.
1 in 208 in Northern Ireland
94% alike: moves with Matilda across countries and decades.
1 in 108 in Scotland
94% alike: moves with Matilda across countries and decades.
1 in 67 in Scotland
94% alike: moves with Matilda across countries and decades.
1 in 109 in Ireland
93% alike: moves with Matilda across countries and decades.
Famous people named Matilda
Matilda Joslyn Gage, Matilda Lutz, Matilda De Angelis, Matilda Ernkrans, Matilda Smith and Matilda Ziegler.
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American writer, Native American civil rights activist, abolitionist, freethinker 1826 to 1898
-
Italian actress (born 1991)
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Italian actress (born 1995)
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Swedish politician born 1973
-
British botanical illustrator and botanist (1854-1926)
-
British actress born 1964
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Matilda
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
Show all 5 questionsShow less
How popular is Matilda?
Her best rank is No. 6 in Queensland in 2025. She is in the published lists of 28 of our 40 regions.
What does Matilda mean?
Wiktionary glosses Matilda as "might + battle".
How do you pronounce Matilda?
muh-TIL-duh, with 3 syllables.
Is Matilda getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 9 of 25 regions, falling in 3.
Which sister names go with Matilda?
The deck's top five sisters for Matilda: Ava, Layla, Phoebe, Amelia and Sienna. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.