It originates in Egas Hermigues, great-grandson of King Ramiro II, from the Kingdom of León.
His son and heir Hermigio Pais de Mattos followed the lineage.
There are documents of Paio Hermigues de Mattos, contemporary of Kings Sancho II and Alfonso III of Portugal.
"Matos" is a word in Hebrew that means "tribes", or in the more literal form, "wooden sticks".
Francisca Nuñez de Carabajal, a Crypto-Jewish burned at stake in Mexico City by the Holy Office was condemned along her Crypto-Jewish husband, Francisco Rodríguez de Matos.