Famous people named Matthews

Sport

Stanley Matthews (1915–2000), "the Wizard of the Dribble", played top-flight football until he was 50 and was the first footballer to be knighted. In ice hockey, Auston Matthews (born 1997) became a record-setting scorer and captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. American football has a whole Matthews dynasty: Clay Matthews Sr. (1928–2017) and his descendants have played in the NFL across three generations.

Music and broadcasting

• Dave Matthews (born 1967), South African-born leader of the Dave Matthews Band.
• Cerys Matthews (born 1969), Welsh singer of Catatonia and broadcaster.
• Chris Matthews, American political commentator and host of Hardball.

Music, service and gardens

Composers include the English brothers David Matthews (born 1943) and Colin Matthews (born 1946), who completed Mahler's Tenth Symphony with Deryck Cooke, and the American ragtime writer Artie Matthews (1888–1958). Opera has the British soprano Sally Matthews (born 1975) and the Australian Emma Matthews (born 1970). In public service, Francis P. Matthews (1887–1952) was US Secretary of the Navy during the Korean War, and Mark Matthews (1894–2005) was one of the last Buffalo Soldiers. New Zealand counts gardening writers Barbara and James Matthews among its bearers, along with the author and puppet maker Tina Matthews (born 1961).

Letters, engineering and business

• James Brander Matthews (1852–1929), American writer and the first professor of dramatic literature in the US, at Columbia.
• Harry Grindell Matthews (1880–1941), English engineer who claimed a "death ray" in the 1920s.
• Bernard Matthews, the Norfolk farmer who founded one of Britain's largest turkey businesses.
• Jeffery Matthews (1928–2023), designer of British postage stamps.

Matthews means "son of Matthew", and Matthew was a favourite medieval name, so these families are separate; arms, likewise, were held by particular lines. Read the origin on our Matthews coat of arms page, and see how to trace your own branch in Matthews family history and genealogy.