Declining since 2022, #8,243 for boys today.
Popularity of Matrix since 1992
Babies named Matrix per year in U.S. Social Security records. Raw births topped out in 1999, but relative to how few babies were recorded back then, Matrix's real moment was 2023.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1990s | 17 |
| 2000s | 17 |
| 2010s | 32 |
| 2020s | 58 |
Meaning & origin
Matrix is a modern coinage that entered the naming landscape as a direct result of the 1999 film The Matrix. Before the film, the word had no history as a personal name. It first appeared in U.S. records in 1992 but remained virtually nonexistent until the film's release. Its peak popularity came in 2023, when it ranked 8,243 with only a handful of births. Since 2022, its trajectory has been falling. With about 1 in every 189,786 boys receiving the name in 2025, Matrix remains an extremely rare choice, chosen almost exclusively by parents who want a distinctly cinematic and unconventional name.
The name Matrix comes directly from the English word matrix, which originates from Latin mater meaning mother, originally referring to the womb or a source of origin. It was virtually unused as a personal name before the 1999 science-fiction film The Matrix. Since then, it has seen sporadic use as a masculine given name, likely inspired by the film's themes of reality and rebellion.
Sibling names for Matrix
Names that share Matrix's style, for a brother or sister.
