Matilda: meaning and UK use

What does Matilda mean?

Matilda comes from Germanic elements connected with strength and battle. Tilda and Tilly are diminutives, while Mathilda is a related full spelling.

Language or name family covered

Germanic

Meaning or derivation

Strength in battle

Our browsing group

girl; vintage, classic

Browsing groups describe our editorial shortlist, not rules about who may use a name. A name can cross languages and genders.

Sources for this entry — reviewed 2026-10-07:

• Behind the Name — Matilda

Pronunciation and related forms

muh-TIL-duh (English)

English respellings are approximate; IPA is labelled where used. Follow the pronunciation a person or family chooses, and check it with a speaker of the intended language if that connection matters to you.

Related forms recorded in the reference: Mathilda, Tilda, Tilly. These may be full forms, diminutives or forms in another language; they are not necessarily pronounced alike or counted together in statistics.

How popular is Matilda?

In 2025, 1,449 baby girls in England and Wales were registered as Matilda, making it the 19th most popular girls’ name. That is up 12 places on 2024, when it ranked 31st. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it ranked 27th, so it has climbed 8 places in a decade. 2025 is its highest ranking in the ONS series, which starts in 1996. These figures cover England and Wales, not the whole UK.

2025 rank (girls)

19th

2025 registrations

1,449

Best rank in this series

19th (2025)

Every year from 1996 to 2025

Matilda: rank and number of baby girls by year (ONS)

Year	Rank	Babies
2025	19	1,449
2024	31	1,220
2023	30	1,212
2022	29	1,363
2021	28	1,437
2020	29	1,401
2019	30	1,563
2018	31	1,618
2017	27	1,736
2016	25	1,915
2015	27	1,774
2014	36	1,440
2013	36	1,446
2012	47	1,284
2011	48	1,225
2010	53	1,273
2009	46	1,285
2008	43	1,418
2007	62	981
2006	70	848
2005	89	620
2004	107	494
2003	122	409
2002	127	369
2001	136	330
2000	143	323
1999	158	282
1998	174	249
1997	177	250
1996	211	200

The sum of published counts in this 1996–2025 girls series is 31,414. This is a lower bound where years are suppressed, not the number of living people with the name. A best rank is the best position within this series; it does not establish an all-time record.

Sources: ONS release, 2025; girls' dataset; boys' dataset. Our 20 top-ten positions were checked against Table 1 in the 2025 workbooks. The history chart and spelling comparisons come from the separate ONS 1996–2025 workbook, checked 7 October 2026. Spelling variants are separate entries. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate statistics.

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Names to compare with Matilda

These suggestions share a browsing group and one or more of our style tags or source-context labels. They are taste comparisons, not etymological relatives or a popularity ranking.

• Beatriceclassic, vintage · A form of Beatrix
• Claravintage, classic · Clear, bright or famous
• Evelynvintage, classic · From the given name Aveline
• Florencevintage, classic · Prosperous or flourishing
• Penelopevintage, classic · Meaning uncertain
• Phoebeclassic, vintage · Bright or pure

Read the UK naming guide for the difference between inspiration lists and official statistics, or return to the full name finder.

Registering or changing the name

Once you decide on Matilda, confirm the registration process for your UK nation with the register office. If you later want to change a registered name, the route depends on the circumstances and may require consent from people with parental responsibility.

Start with GOV.UK birth registration or GOV.UK guidance on changing a child’s name. Our registration guide and child name-change guide explain where to find the relevant official process.