September 21
Why this day? This is the day the name-day calendar sets aside for Saint Matthew.
A tax collector in Capernaum in the first century, in Galilee. He left his meticulous records to follow a new path, then rigorously transcribed Jesus's teachings, becoming the first evangelist.
What stays with us: One can change one's life without waiting for permission from the past. The ability to reinvent oneself while bringing order and meaning to lived experience is a universal human strength.
🌍 Mathieu is celebrated France, United States, Spain and Germany on September 21.
Mathieu is the French form of the Hebrew Mattityahu, meaning "Gift of Yahweh," or "Gift of God." He owes his fame to Saint Matthew, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus: a former tax collector who became a disciple, he is the author of the first of the four Gospels and one of the symbols of the Evangelists (the winged man). His feast day is September 21.
Immens popular in France between 1970 and 1990, Mathieu (sometimes also spelled Matthieu) stands for an open, likable, and educated boy. The name has spread in a thousand forms throughout Christendom: Matthew, Matteo, Mateo, Matwei…
Today, carried by French artists such as Mathieu Amalric or Mathieu Chedid, it preserves a warm and timeless image, both classic and never out of fashion.
Mathieu is the "Gift of God" with the open and heartfelt accent of 1980s France. Behind this timelessly charming name stands a beautiful figure: Saint Matthew, the tax collector whom Jesus pulls from his silver table to make him an apostle and author of the first Gospel. A journey of repentance, a decisive encounter—as if the name in its seed carried the love for turning points and fruitful questioning.
One envisions an open, likable, and communicative character. Mathieu is one of those easy-going comrades who are open and honest, with a benevolent humor and insatiable curiosity. He loves to exchange ideas, to learn, to travel from one idea to another; movement and freedom are his oxygen. Yet this apparent lightness hides true loyalty: in friendship, Mathieu is available, without circumlocution and without weakness.
The crowd of famous Mathieus draws a coherent and attractive portrait. The actor Mathieu Amalric with his unsettling intensity, the filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz with his committed fervor, the musician Mathieu Chedid with his poetic fantasy: all are creatives with sharpened sensitivity, able to connect intelligence and emotion. Over this name lies a subtle touch of the artist, a warm-hearted intellectual who prefers nuance over certainty.
Immensely widespread between 1970 and 1995, Mathieu stands for a generation, for a certain French way of life, without ever becoming old-fashioned. It is a reassuring classic that never feels heavy and traverses epochs with elegance. Educated without being pedantic, funny without being superficial, loyal without being possessive, Mathieu embodies this rare balance between mind and heart. A name of the good comrade and the refined spirit—the kind of friend you keep for a lifetime.
Playful portrait, for entertainment.
Mathieu, this "Gift of God," does not give his heart lightly. In love, he is a demanding giver who seeks an intense, almost sacred reciprocity. He seduces through a calm, magnetic presence, where touch becomes speech. He does not chase shadows; he attracts through his earthly stability. What excites him is raw authenticity, that human warmth that sets the soul vibrating. In return, the trickiness of others tires him instantly. Power games and double standards repel him like an insult to his generous nature. He needs a partner willing to receive without calculating, but also to give back with the same devotion. For him, intimacy is not a commercial exchange, but a merging of beings. He seeks anchorage, not the fleeting high. A love of familiar glances and soothing silences. When he senses that the other holds back their light out of fear or mistrust, he withdraws and closes his door with a sad but unshakable dignity. He wants to love wholly, without reservation, in a union where body and spirit are one.
"Gift of God," from the Hebrew Mattityahu.
Saint Matthew, apostle and evangelist, author of the first Gospel.
On September 21.
Two spellings of the same name; Matthieu, with two "t"s, fits the Latin form Matthaeus better.
Very popular from 1970 to 1995, it remains a cherished classic, though more discreet today.
Playful profile, for entertainment.