Today's meaning in Albanian, "river bank, river shore", is a consequence of a secondary change through the common use of both the terms mal, "mountain" and breg, "shore", giving the meaning of "elevation".

The river was recorded by Roman writer Vibius Sequester (4th or 5th century AD) as Mathis, following a hellenized graphic mode of the term mat.

[6] The Mat originates from the confluence of several streams within the karstic mountains in Martanesh, where it forms deep gorges and canyons.

After passing through the Ulëz dam, it flows through another lake, Shkopet, dammed again by the Shkopet Hydroelectric Power Station forming a narrow gorge through the mountain range that separates Mat from the coastal plains.

[8] After a total length of 115 km (71 mi), the Mat flows into the Adriatic Sea near Fushë-Kuqe, between the towns of Lezhë and Laç.