Matthias
The German form of a Hebrew name meaning "gift of god": in Poland it's the Slavic Maciej that took root instead. Only about 700 men here carry Matthias, and the last few years brought no newborns at all, so meeting one would stick in your memory.
Matthias Pronunciation
What Matthias means
Where Matthias comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Matthias reaches back to the Hebrew Mattityahu, which joins the word for "gift" with a name of God. The short meaning has come down to us as "gift of god," in Polish "dar boga." In the New Testament, Matthias is the apostle chosen by lot to fill the place left by Judas, and that story carried the name into the church calendars of Christian Europe.
German-speaking lands took to it especially. Matthias settled into German parish registers and stayed there, a form still recognizable just across the border. Polish speakers reshaped the same root into Maciej, the variant that sounds native, then softened it further into the diminutive Maciek.
That closeness matters. A boy entered on a school register as Maciej is, by origin, carrying the Hebrew blessing behind Matthias, whether or not anyone at the desk stops to think of it. The name-day for Maciej falls in late February. Say the forms in order and the link is plain: Matthias, Maciej, Maciek, one gift of god under three shapes.
How many people are named Matthias
1 in 28768 men in Poland is named Matthias. 742 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #1084 among male names.
Matthias's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 boys were given the name in 2025. It has been falling steadily since 2000.
Matthias as a middle name
Matthias is a first name for 742 men in Poland and a middle name for another 193, a 79/21 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 488th, between Hassan (193) and Sambor (193).
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#486 Henri195
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#487 Hassan193
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#488 Matthias193
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#489 Sambor193
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#490 Claude192