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Mats as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Mats

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The baby name Mats is a Male name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced Swedish/Norwegian: /mats/ (IPA [mɑts]); English approximation: /mæts/ ('Mats' rhymes with 'cats').

Mats is Latin, Scandinavian in Origin.

Gender: Male
Syllables: 1.0
Origin: Latin, Scandinavian
Pronunciation: Swedish/Norwegian: /mats/ (IPA [mɑts]); English approximation: /mæts/ ('Mats' rhymes with 'cats')

What is the meaning of the name Mats ?

The baby name Mats is a Male name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced Swedish/Norwegian: /mats/ (IPA [mɑts]); English approximation: /mæts/ ('Mats' rhymes with 'cats').

Mats is Latin, Scandinavian in Origin.

Mats is the Scandinavian vernacular of the biblical name Matthew, from Hebrew Matityahu (“gift of Yahweh”), via Greek Matthaios and Latin Matthaeus. Adopted across the Nordics after Christianization, it settled in Sweden and Norway as Mats/Matts, with cognates Danish/Norwegian Mads and Finnish Matti. In Dutch, Mats now appears as a short form of Matthijs.

Medieval Swedish parish rolls record spellings like Matz and Matts; association with the evangelist Matthew and the apostle Matthias sustained use through the Reformation and into modern times, with a late-20th-century uptick in Sweden and renewed visibility in Norway and the Netherlands. International variants include Matthew, Mathew, Matthias, Mattias, Matias, Matteo, Mateo, Mathieu, Mateusz, Matúš, Mátyás, and Mati/Matti. Older Swedish Matts and Estonian Mats appear in records; in Estonian, however, mats also carried rustic overtones. Across languages, the meaning remains “gift of God.”

Mats has the following similar or variant Names

Celebrity babies named Mats

Name Last Name(s) Mother Mother famous for Fame Level Father Father famous for Fame Level
Mats Bergman Ingmar Bergman film director

Mats – Popularity by country

Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.

Country Gender Year Rank Born of
Germany Boys 2025 #1 423
MT 0 #42 2 1,767
MO 0 #52 1 2,706
LU 0 #66 1 2,830
JP 0 #77 1 4,057
Belgium Boys 2024 #90 101 401
Switzerland Boys 2024 #109 29 1,769
PH 0 #110 1 5,607
Norway Boys 2025 #116 19 444
EE Boys 0 #121 5 2,087
KW 0 #121 1 5,216
BW Girls 0 #147 5 4,216
BW Boys 0 #149 6 4,685
LT Boys 0 #150 2 2,166
HU Boys 0 #174 1 3,954
Sweden Boys 2022 #176 7 1,509
MT Boys 0 #179 1 4,064
AE 0 #186 2 10,220
DK 0 #201 6 5,198
LU Boys 0 #212 9 4,970
Finland Boys 0 #213 274 2,041
Finland Boys 2026 #237 1,389 3,552
Finland 0 #263 45 830
GR Boys 0 #272 2 6,912
IL 0 #282 1 6,291
SG 0 #282 1 11,010
TW Girls 0 #289 1 8,139
KZ Boys 0 #295 2 6,578
JP Boys 0 #300 4 7,909
CZ Boys 0 #302 4 6,530
DK Boys 0 #305 21 7,401
Canada Boys 2022 #306 5 2,557
SA 0 #311 2 10,560
GT 0 #338 1 5,948
JO Girls 0 #339 1 7,570
MY 0 #351 4 12,352
CN Girls 0 #359 1 8,829
NL 0 #362 30 2,481
PT Boys 0 #378 4 7,951
France Boys 2021 #384 4 2,865
JO Boys 0 #387 3 7,057
NL Boys 0 #397 822 5,873
BO 0 #408 1 6,868
PH Boys 0 #408 1 11,440
Germany 0 #423 15 2,542
OM Girls 0 #424 1 15,987
PH Girls 0 #428 2 13,098
SD Boys 0 #465 2 10,523
ZA 0 #471 4 14,421
AR Boys 0 #482 2 7,628
RU Boys 0 #525 2 12,621
GT Girls 0 #541 1 7,500
HK Boys 0 #553 5 12,905
LY 0 #555 5 12,703
PS Boys 0 #558 4 10,655
KW Girls 0 #559 3 19,177
IR Boys 0 #564 2 10,162
CM Boys 0 #574 2 12,054
AE Girls 0 #597 1 20,968
BD Boys 0 #605 1 10,045
BO Boys 0 #622 1 9,244
IL Boys 0 #622 4 10,983
HK Girls 0 #650 1 16,104
IQ Boys 0 #693 5 13,071
CL Boys 0 #696 5 13,390
SG Boys 0 #732 8 17,960
QA Boys 0 #742 2 18,093
SY 0 #766 2 11,684
Germany Boys 0 #776 177 5,697
BR Boys 0 #780 6 12,213
KW Boys 0 #805 2 18,755
TN 0 #864 2 13,765
PE Boys 0 #868 11 14,506
United States Boys 2018 #880 5 7,242
Spain Boys 0 #907 24 5,610
OM Boys 0 #914 5 17,948
EG Boys 0 #921 5 15,035
MX Boys 0 #972 11 16,355
CO Boys 0 #976 6 15,656
NG Boys 0 #1,001 1 16,906
EG Girls 0 #1,009 1 14,742
SA Girls 0 #1,012 3 25,931
AE Boys 0 #1,083 10 22,615
MY Boys 0 #1,093 19 25,439
ZA Girls 0 #1,127 15 25,928
CO Girls 0 #1,152 1 16,140
ZA Boys 0 #1,162 17 25,619
MA 0 #1,194 6 20,986
DZ 0 #1,227 8 20,130
MX Girls 0 #1,267 1 17,781
IT Boys 0 #1,447 25 10,046
SA Boys 0 #1,602 13 28,008

Mats is popular in 61 countries — most recent births per country:

Norway
Belgium
Flanders, Belgium
Switzerland
France

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People also ask about Mats

Mats is predominantly a boy's name.
Mats is a one syllable name, pronounced Swedish/Norwegian: /mats/ (IPA [mɑts]); English approximation: /mæts/ ('Mats' rhymes with 'cats').
Common nicknames and spelling variations include Matts and Matz.
Across languages, Mats has these equivalents: Matthew (English), Matthias/Mathias (German/Greek), Mattias/Mattias (Scandinavian), Mads (Danish), Mateo/Matteo (Spanish/Italian), and 1 more.
Yes, very popular — Mats ranked #1 in Germany in 2025, and appears in official birth registries across 9 countries.
Mats ranks highest in Germany (#1 in 2025).
Mats's popularity is declining significantly. It moved from #83 in 2015 to #116 in 2025 in Norway.
Yes — at least 1 celebrity couple has chosen Mats for their child, including Ingmar Bergman.