Matilda carries 36,428 cumulative American girls on SSA record, sits at rank 410, and reached its peak in 2024 — the chart shows a clear contemporary high after a long mid-century absence. Usage was effectively dormant in America from the 1960s through the late 1990s, then climbed steadily through the 2000s and 2010s before reaching its all-time American peak last year.
The Germanic source
Matilda derives from the Old High German Mahthildis, combining maht meaning "might" or "strength" with hild meaning "battle." The literal sense is "mighty in battle." The name was carried by Matilda of Flanders, queen consort of William the Conqueror, and by Empress Matilda, the twelfth-century claimant to the English throne whose civil war shaped medieval succession law.
The 1996 film adaptation of Roald Dahl's Matilda introduced the name to a generation of American children, and the 2022 Netflix musical adaptation refreshed the association for younger families. Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams named their daughter Matilda in 2005, which contributed to the late-2000s climb.
The grandmother-revival cluster
Matilda sits with Eloise, Beatrice, Cordelia, and Clementine in the long-form vintage cluster that has driven much of 2020s American girl naming. Browse the broader Germanic girl names family for related options.
The counter-reading
The nickname question is the practical one. Tilly, Tillie, Mattie, and Mati are all in active use, and the choice between them shifts the register noticeably: Tilly reads playful and modern, Mattie reads warm and Southern, and the full Matilda reads stately. The four-syllable ma-TIL-da rhythm is long but easy. The Roald Dahl association is universally positive, which makes the name unusually well-supported across both literary and Hollywood cultural anchors.