Mathews surname meaning

Mathews is an English patronymic surname meaning “son of Mathew,” and is a spelling variant of Matthews. Mathew and Matthew descend through biblical and medieval naming traditions from Hebrew Mattityahu, commonly glossed “gift of God,” but that deeper meaning belongs to the ancestor’s given name. The single-t form is common in English records, while Matthews and Matthies preserve other regional spellings. The surname could form independently wherever Matthew was popular, so spelling does not establish one family line. The catalog uses parent’s name with high confidence for the direct Mathew-plus-patronymic construction.