Matan is a Hebrew name meaning gift or gift from God.
Matan is a Hebrew given name with a clean, resonant meaning: "gift" or "giving." It derives from the root n-t-n (נתן), one of the most fundamental verbs in Biblical Hebrew, meaning to give. The name is etymologically connected to the longer Mattan and to the theophoric Mattaniah ("gift of God"), and shares its root with the name Nathan and ultimately with Matthew — Mattityahu in Hebrew, meaning "gift of God" — making Matan part of one of the great name families in Western history, spanning Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and every European language.
In the Hebrew Bible, Mattan appears as the name of a priest of Baal in the Second Book of Kings, though the name carries no negative weight from this association in modern usage. More significantly, the concept embedded in the name — divine or parental giving — connects it to a deep thread in Jewish thought about children as gifts entrusted rather than possessed. Matan is a common given name in modern Israel, used across secular and religious families, and its simplicity and directness are part of its appeal.
Outside Israel, Matan has gained visibility in Jewish diaspora communities as parents seek Hebrew names that are authentic to their heritage, easy to pronounce in English, and not already heavily anglicized. It travels well: two syllables, stress on the second, with a bright final vowel. It feels ancient and contemporary simultaneously — a name that could belong to a Biblical figure or to a child born this year in Tel Aviv, Toronto, or Buenos Aires.