Matthew derives from the Hebrew Mattityahu, translating to "gift of God." Like its relative Theodore, it frames the bearer as something received rather than self-made, and the name has stayed closely tied across centuries to a sense of unearned, welcomed presence rather than achievement.
Make the Sun, or any of the superiors to signify princes and great persons. Scribes and rusticks, [are shown by] the inferior planets, and chiefly the Moon. - William Lilly (1602.-1681.)