Why are so many dudes called Matt?
Millennials are facing a crisis of unprecedented proportions and nobody wants to talk about it.
There are too many Matts.
Think about it. You know Matt, he’s your friends boyfriend. He’s also the guy you met at a party once but never saw again. You know Matt (27) from Hinge. He’s in finance. And Matt (34) from Tinder. He’s not looking for anything serious right now but would like to settle down eventually. Matt works three desks down from you and serves you a pint after work and sits next to you on the Tube.
There are too many Matts.
Eventually, your life will become so inundated with Matts that you’ll have to start giving them nicknames. Tall Matt. Weird Matt. Matt with the glasses. Somebody tells you Matt is coming and you reply: “which one?”
Off the top of my head I know 6 Matts.
But why are we in the midst of a Matt epidemic?
Matthew was the third most popular baby name of the 80s and 90s. But Matthew is too formal. Matt is much easier, more approachable.
The 90s gave us a whole host of famous Matts. Matt Le Blanc. Matt Damon. Matt Groening. But today, in our year 2020 celebrities don’t want to be a ‘Matt’. They go by ‘Matty’ instead. They aren’t boring. They’re special. Matty.
Matt is a neutral. There are no really great famous Matts, but also no real awful ones either. Matt doesn’t have the bro-y connotations of a Chad, nor does it have the geeky and or sexy vibes of a Thomas.
Maybe Matts feel so omnipresent because they’re both reliable and visible. A Matt, bless him, is not a risk taker. But he’s found himself in stability. Of work, of life, of always chatting to friends of a friend at a party.
A Matt will be there for you, at every twist and turn of life. Sure, it won’t be the same Matt. But one will be there, waiting.
To be Matt is to be human. To know Matt is to know humanity.
