Given name & surname
Mats
“gift of God”·“a gift from God”
Mats is a variant of Matthew. Interpretations include “gift of God” (Hebrew) and “a gift from God” (Hebrew). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Mats is a variant of Matthew. Interpretations include “gift of God” (Hebrew) and “a gift from God” (Hebrew). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Mats is a variant of Matthew. An origin associated with Matthew is Hebrew.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In Estonian usage, Mats is a short form of Mattias. In Norwegian Bokmål usage, Mats developed from Matthias.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1986. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Mats through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 83
- 83 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2003
- 9 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2018. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 9 in 2003. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 433 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Mats’s family of names
In Estonian usage, Mats is a short form of Mattias. Mats shares a linguistic root with Matthew. In Swedish usage, Mats has a conventional equivalent in the German form Matthias.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Mats has relatives in 9 languages.
10 related names in 9 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 6
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Mats
- Mats HummelsGerman footballer (born 1988)
- Mats WilanderSwedish tennis playerborn 1964
- Mats WiefferDutch association football player (born 1999)
- Mats SundinSwedish ice hockey playerborn 1971
- Mats ZuccarelloNorwegian ice hockey playerborn 1987
- Mats Møller DæhliNorwegian association football playerborn 1995
- Mats MagnussonSwedish footballerborn 1963
- Mats NäslundSwedish ice hockey playerborn 1959
- Mats LarssonSwedish cross-country skierborn 1980
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Mats, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.