Matilda (name)

Look up Mathilda in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Matilda (sometimes spelled Mathilda) is a female name, of Gothic derivation, derived from words corresponding to Old High German "mahta" (meaning "might, strength") and "hildr" (meaning "battle").

The name is currently popular in Scandinavian countries. Mathilde appeared among the top 10 most popular names for girls born in Denmark in 2008 and the name was also well-used in Norway, Sweden and Finland. It is also currently rising in popularity in other European countries, including in France, the United Kingdom and in other English-speaking countries.

The name was most popular in the United States between 1880 and 1910, when it was among the top 200 names given to girls. It left the top 1,000 names in the United States by 1964, but reappeared for the first time in 44 years in the top 1,000 names as the 869th most popular name for baby girls born in 2008 in the United States.^[1]

• Machteld (Dutch)
• Maddie (English)
• Mafalda (Italian), (Portuguese)
• Mahaut (French)
• Mallt (Welsh)
• Matelda (Italian)
• Mathilda (English), (Swedish)
• Mathilde (Danish), (Dutch), (French), (German), (Norwegian), (Italian)
• Matild (Hungarian)
• Matilda (English), (Finnish), (Swedish), (Slovak), (Italian), (Croatian)
• Matilde (Italian), (Portuguese), (Spanish), (Danish), (Galician)
• Matti (English)
• Mattie (English)
• Ματθίλδη (Mathilde, Mathildi) (Greek)
• Matty (English)
• Matylda (Czech), (Polish)
• Maud (Dutch), (English)
• Maude (English), (French)
• Maudie (English)
• Mechteld (Dutch)
• Mechtild (German)
• Mechtilde (German)
• Tilda (English), (Finnish), (Spanish), (Swedish)
• Tilde (Danish)
• Tille (Danish)
• Tilli (English)
• Tillie (English)
• Tilly (English)
• Tylda (Czech)

People

• Saint Matilda or Matilda of Ringelheim, (892–968), wife of Henry I the Fowler, King of the East Franks
• Matilda of Flanders (c. 1031–1083), Queen of England, wife of William I of England
• Matilda of Tuscany (1046–1114), Countess of Tuscany (also called Mathilde or Matilde of Canossa)
• Matilda of Scotland (c. 1080–1118), originally named Edith, wife of Henry I of England
• Matilda of England (1102–1167), Lady of the English, Queen of Germany, daughter of Henry I of England, mother of Henry II of England; known as the Empress Matilda, or the Empress Maud
• Matilda of Boulogne (1104–1152), Queen of England, wife of Stephen of England
• Matilda of Savoy (1125–1158), First Portuguese queen-consort
• Saint Mechtildis or Mechtildis of Edelstetten (died 1160)
• Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony (1156–1189), Duchess of Saxony, daughter of Henry II of England
• Mechthild of Magdeburg (c. 1207 – c. 1282/1294), Beguine and mystic
• Matilda of Holstein (1220 or 1225–1288), Danish queen consort
• Saint Mechtilde of Hackeborn, 1240/41-1298, Saxon Christian saint and nun
• Matilda of Habsburg (1253–1304), Duchess consort of Bavaria
• Mechtild of Nassau (before 1280 – 19 June 1323), Duchess consort of Bavaria
• Matilda of Savoy (1390–1498), Electress palatine
• Mechtilde of the Blessed Sacrament (1614–1698), French nun and founder of order
• Mathilda d'Orozco (1796–1863), composer
• Mathilda Berwald (1798–1877) Swedish royal court singer
• Mathilda Rotkirch (1813–1842), Finnish painter
• Mathilda Foy (1813–1869), Swedish philanthropist
• Mathilda Gelhaar (1813–1889), opera singer
• Matilda Joslyn Gage (1826–1898), 19th century American feminist and freethinker
• Mathilda Enequist (1833–1898), Swedish opera singer
• Matilda Jane Sager (1839–1928), fifth Sager child
• Matilda Coxe Stevenson (1855–1915, née Evans), American ethnologist and author
• Mechtilde Lichnowsky (1879–1958), German writer born Mechtilde Christiane Marie Gräfin von und zu Arco-Zinneberg
• Matilde Camus (1919 – 2012), Spanish poet
• Mechtild Rothe (born 1947), German politician
• Mathilda May (born 1965), French film actress
• Queen Mathilde of the Belgians (born 1973), wife of King Philippe of the Belgians
• Matilda Rose Ledger (born 2005), daughter of actor Heath Ledger and actress Michelle Williams

Fictional characters

• Matilda de Villanegas, a fictional character in Matthew Lewis' The Monk.
• Matilda, a fictional character from the anime/manga Strike Witches
• Mathilda, a fictional character at the end of Purgatorio.
• Matilda McDuck, fictional character from Walt Disney Company's Clan McDuck.
• Matilda Wormwood, the central character in the book and the film.
• Matilda "Mattie" Hunter, a fictional character from the popular Australian soap opera Home & Away, played by Indiana Evans.
• A fictional character in the Gothic novel The Castle of Otranto, daughter of Manfred.
• Matilda Ajan.
• A fictional character representing Protestantism in Heinrich Heine's "The City of Lucca" and "The Baths of Lucca".
• Mathilda Lando, Leon's apprentice and companion in Luc Besson's Léon. Played by Natalie Portman.
• Tilly, French-speaking character in the pre-school children's TV show Tots TV.
• Matilda Ashby, character on the America soap opera The Young and the Restless
• Matilda Román, main antagonist (later friends with Grachi) from the Latin American TV series Grachi. Played by Kimberly Dos Ramos.
• Matilda "Matty" Jenkyns, a charakter from Elizabeth Gaskells novel Cranford who was portrayed by Judi Dench in the TV-Series of the same title.

Music

• A calypso composed by Norman Span (King Radio), which in 1953 become famous worldwide from the version by Harry Belafonte.
• "Matilda Mother" is a song by Pink Floyd
• "Waltzing Matilda", Australian folk song.

Film

• Matilda's Legacy, an Australian film starring American actor Oliver Hardy
• Matilda, an American film based on the novel by British author Roald Dahl

References