Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Mate?
Births per year, rank history and how many Mates are alive today.
Mate (male) is a shortened form of the name Matthew. Mate itself was last registered for 3 babies in 2023; most Mates are registered as Matthew, which ranked 153rd in 2025 with 353 babies.
Most people called Mate are registered as Matthew, and share that name's profile: the Matthew you are most likely to meet is around 41 years old. Half of all Matthews born in England and Wales are between 31 and 51, and there are at least 360,000 of them alive today. Only some Matthews go by Mate.
How many babies are named Mate or Matthew each year?
Combined registrations of Matthew, Mathew, Mate. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does Matthew rank as a registered name?
Where does Mate rank as a registered name?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
Is Mate short for Matthew?
Yes - Mate is a shortened form of Matthew. Mates are usually registered as Matthew at birth.
When was the name Mate most popular?
The full name Matthew peaked in 1984, when around 9,900 babies in England and Wales were given the name. Mate itself peaked as a registered name in 2018, with 13 babies.
How many people are called Mate?
There's no official count of people who go by Mate, because it's a nickname rather than a registered name. What we can say: at least 360,000 people registered as Matthew born in England and Wales are alive today, and some of them go by Mate.
How old is the typical Mate?
Most people called Mate are registered as Matthew. Most living Matthews are between 31 and 51; the most common age is about 41.
Is Mate becoming more or less popular?
Declining: numbers have been falling in recent years.