Matilda comes from the Germanic name Mahthilt meaning ‘strength in battle’. It is composed of ‘maht’ for ‘might, strength’ and ‘hilt’ for ‘battle’.
Matilda is a first name typically given to girls, but in rare cases also used as a boys name.
The name Matilda isn’t among the current fashionable names in our top 10 stats, but nonetheless, it’s still very popular and common. In our SmartGenius ranking of all girls names, Matilda ranks 477. Recently, out of every 10,000 newborn girls, approximately 4 were named Matilda. In the entire USA, approximately 21,460 people – children, adults and seniors – currently bear the name Matilda. That is 0.01 % of all living Americans.
Matilda comes from the Germanic name Mahthilt meaning ‘strength in battle’. It is composed of ‘maht’ for ‘might, strength’ and ‘hilt’ for ‘battle’.
Matilda was a ... popular name with royalty throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. In the US, its popularity dropped significantly to almost zero from 1890. Since 2010, it has become slightly more popular.
Katherine Matilda »Tilda« Swinton (*1960)
The British actress has won several awards, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award for her supporting role in the film »Michael Clayton« (2007). She is best known for her impressive range of roles, her avant-garde fashion choices and her involvement in the art world.In 2020, the New York Times categorised her as one of the greatest actresses of the 21st century.
Empress Mathilde (1102-1167)
Also known as »Empress Maude«, Mathilde was a contender for the English throne during the English Civil War. The daughter and heiress of Henry I, King of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to Germany as a child when she was married to the future Roman-German Emperor Henry V. She therefore also bore the title »Roman Empress«.
Roald Dahl's Matilda / Matilda the Musical
»Matilda« is a musical in two acts based on the children's novel »Matilda« by Roald Dahl, music and lyrics by Tim Minchin and a book by Dennis Kelly. The musical was premiered by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon in December 2010 and has since won numerous awards, including seven Laurence Olivier Awards. »Matilda« was performed on Broadway from April 2013 to January 2017
Matilda Electa Gage (1826-1898)
Gage was active in the battle for women's right to vote in the USA and campaigned for Native American rights as well as abolitionism. She also was editor of the magazine »The National Citizen« and founded the »Woman's National Liberal Union«. In 1993, science historian Margaret W. Rossiter named the silencing of women's scientific achievements after her as the »Matilda effect«.
When you hear the name Matilda, you might first think of a woman or a girl. But did you know that there are also places with the name Matilda? Are you also called Matilda? Maybe one day you will visit the places that are named just like you...
»Matilda Bay« is located in the state of Western Australia. It is situated on the Swan River in Perth.
»Matilda International Hospital« is a profit-oriented community hospital in Hong Kong.
is a 1,356 kilometer long highway in the Australian state of Queensland.
Appearing throughout the time in the United States, the name Matilda is a staple in the country: Girls have been given the name Matilda for more than 140 years, according to official U.S. naming statistics. Matilda is therefore one of the 432 girls’ names that have been given every year since 1880. Even beyond that, Matilda is a very special name that peaked in popularity over 100 years ago in the 19th century, ranking in the top 100 girls' names in our SmartGenius first name statistics: With #100 Matilda has never been more popular than back in 1880.
In years where the graph has no value, the name Matilda was given less than five times or even none at all in the entire USA.
As many as 756 babies were named Matilda in the USA in 2022, ranking it #383 on the list of the most popular girls' names for that year. However, it experienced its lowest point of popularity in 1993, when it was only ranked #3,654 of all female names in our SmartGenius statistics – back then only 26 girls were named Matilda.
Well, you might say, you probably figured that out yourself! But what you might not know is: The letter M is a quite popular first letter for girls' names. That’s because 8.5% of all common girls’ names in the US begin with this letter. Only the first letters A and S are more common for girls' names.
With seven letters, the name Matilda has a typical length for first names in the US. In fact, 26% of all common first names consist of exactly seven letters. 52% of all first names are shorter, while 22% have eight letters or more. On average, first names in the US (not counting hyphenated names) are 6.5 letters long. There are no significant differences between boys' and girls' names.
Therefore: As 8.5% of all girls' names start with an M, this initial letter occurs nearly 2.5-times as often as all 26 letters on average – and the most common one of all the girls’ names starting with M is Mary.
If your name is Matilda and someone asks after your name, you can of course just tell them what it is. But sometimes that isn't so easy - what if it's too loud, and you don't understand them well? Or what if the other person is so far away that you can see them but not hear them? In these situations, you can communicate your name in so many other ways: you call spell it, sign it, or even use a flag to wave it...
So that everyone really understands you when you have to spell the name Matilda, you can simply say:
Mouse
Apple
Tiger
Igloo
Lion
Dinosaur
Apple
Braille is made up of dots, which the blind and visually impaired can feel to read words.
Matilda
Matilda
Just use American Sign Language!
These flags are used for maritime communication - each flag represents a letter.
M
A
T
I
L
D
A
In the navy, sailors of two ships might wave flags to each other to send messages. A sailor holds two flags in specific positions to represent different letters.
M
A
T
I
L
D
A
In Morse code, letters and other characters are represented only by a series of short and long tones. For example, a short tone followed by a long tone stands for the letter A. Matilda sounds like this:
