Matay as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Matay

What is the meaning of the name Matay ?

The baby name Matay is a Male name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced mah-TAY (IPA: /məˈteɪ/ or /mɑˈteɪ/).

Matay is Hebrew in Origin.

Matay is a Semitic masculine name, a variant of Hebrew/Aramaic Mattay or Mattai, the short form of Matityahu, meaning “gift of Yah(weh).” This root underlies the English Matthew. The name is documented in Jewish usage from the late Second Temple and early rabbinic periods and shows up in liturgical, legal, and communal records across the diaspora. In modern Israeli Hebrew it is occasionally chosen, though it coincides in spelling with the common word for “when” (מתי), giving it a distinctive, minimalist look. Typical pronunciation in Hebrew is ma-TAI.

Close variants include Mattay, Mattai, and Matai; diminutives and related forms are Mati and Matty. Cross-language cognates span Matthew/Mathew (English), Matteo (Italian), Mateo (Spanish), Mathieu (French), Matías (Spanish/Portuguese), Mateusz (Polish), Matei (Romanian), Matej/Matija (Slavic), Matvei (Russian), and Matthias/Mathias, all carrying the same “gift of God” sense.