Matten

Matten is a name used as both a place name and a surname in German-speaking regions. The toponym often traces back to the Middle High German word Matte, meaning a flat meadow or grassy plain; the form Matten typically denotes a collective or plural sense of such terrain.

In Switzerland, one of the best-known uses is Matten bei Interlaken, a village in the canton of Bern. It lies on the Bödeli, a flat, grassy plateau between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, near the town of Interlaken. The name reflects the landscape of pasture or meadowland that characterized the area. The form Matten appears in other localities and street names within Switzerland, generally signaling historical pasture or meadow associations.

As a surname, Matten is found among German-speaking populations in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. It is one of several toponymic or occupational surnames that spread with migration and local settlement patterns. In contemporary contexts, bearers of the name may be encountered in various professional and social settings, but there is no single singular history that defines all individuals who carry it.

Etymologically, Matten illustrates how landscape features commonly shaped place names across the German-speaking world, with flat, meadow-like terrains often giving rise to toponyms that later became family names for inhabitants of those areas.