Matina
Meaning
love in Nepal Bhasa, the Newar language of the Kathmandu Valley; famously borne by Matina Shakya, Kathmandu's Kumari, its living goddess, from 2008 to 2017
The story
Matina is two names that happen to share a spelling. In Nepal Bhasa, the Newar language of the Kathmandu Valley, matina means love, and the name became internationally visible when Matina Shakya was chosen in 2008 as Kathmandu's Kumari, the living goddess venerated through childhood. In Greece, Matina is an affectionate short form of Stamatina, from a verb meaning to stop, a name traditionally tied to wishes for a child who stays. The two traditions are unrelated, and a family reaching for either one stands on solid ground. The US curve shows a quiet presence from the 2000s through the 2020s, small enough that most American Matinas can expect to explain their name, whichever story it carries. Between a living goddess and a grandmother's diminutive, it holds more history than its size suggests.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Matina has stayed rare in US records the whole time: no peak decade to name.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
117 people · the #36,897 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 1,000,000 · median age 23
Among people named Matina living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Matina
People given the name Matina in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1960 to 1999. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Matina deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Matina truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Matina fits with your family’s names and surname.
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