The French form of Matthew, from Hebrew, meaning gift of God.
Mathieu is the French form of Matthew, and wearing it is like discovering that a familiar landscape looks entirely different in a different light. The name derives from the Hebrew Mattityahu (מַתִּתְיָהוּ), meaning "gift of Yahweh" — a name of profound gratitude, given to a child perceived as a divine blessing. It entered the Christian tradition through Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, the tax collector who became one of the twelve disciples and authored the first Gospel, and from that evangelical foundation spread throughout the medieval Christian world in dozens of linguistic forms.
The French inflection Mathieu has a particular elegance — the -ieu ending, with its soft, lilting close, gives the name a musicality that the English Matthew, for all its solid virtues, doesn't quite achieve. Medieval France produced many notable bearers; the name appears in troubadour poetry and ecclesiastical records throughout the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In modern French culture, the name maintains a quiet popularity that reflects its deep roots without feeling archaic.
French filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz, director of La Haine, and actor Mathieu Amalric have given the name a distinctly contemporary artistic patina. Outside France, Mathieu has appealed to English-speaking parents seeking a Francophone alternative to the ubiquitous Matthew — a way of honoring a family connection to the apostolic tradition while stepping slightly off the well-worn path. The name travels remarkably well: understood immediately by English speakers as a form of Matthew, yet distinctly French in its bearing. It is a name that announces a certain sensibility — an appreciation for the European tradition worn lightly.