diff --git a/doc/release/next_whats_new/mathnormal.rst b/doc/release/next_whats_new/mathnormal.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..7e4cd5d333fe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/release/next_whats_new/mathnormal.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+Mathtext distinguishes *italic* and *normal* font
+-------------------------------------------------
+
+Matplotlib's lightweight TeX expression parser (``usetex=False``) now distinguishes between *italic* and *normal* math fonts to closer replicate the behaviour of LaTeX.
+The normal math font is selected by default in math environment (unless the rcParam ``mathtext.default`` is overwritten) but can be explicitly set with the new ``\mathnormal`` command. Italic font is selected with ``\mathit``.
+The main difference is that *italic* produces italic digits, whereas *normal* produces upright digits. Previously, it was not possible to typeset italic digits.
+Note that ``normal`` now corresponds to what used to be ``it``, whereas ``it`` now renders all characters italic.
+**Important**: In case the default mathematics font is overwritten by setting ``mathtext.default: it`` in ``matplotlibrc``, it must be either commented out or changed to ``mathtext.default: normal`` to preserve its behaviour. Otherwise, all alphanumeric characters, including digits, are rendered italic.
+
+One difference to traditional LaTeX is that LaTeX further distinguishes between *normal* (``\mathnormal``) and *default math*, where the default uses roman digits and normal uses oldstyle digits. This distinction is no longer present with modern LaTeX engines and unicode-math nor in Matplotlib.
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/_mathtext.py b/lib/matplotlib/_mathtext.py
index b6cdb1fa6e8e..dc09dedcca2c 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/_mathtext.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/_mathtext.py
@@ -269,8 +269,9 @@ def get_metrics(self, font: str, font_class: str, sym: str, fontsize: float,
         ----------
         font : str
             One of the TeX font names: "tt", "it", "rm", "cal", "sf", "bf",
-            "default", "regular", "bb", "frak", "scr".  "default" and "regular"
-            are synonyms and use the non-math font.
+            "default", "regular", "normal", "bb", "frak", "scr".  "default"
+            and "regular" are synonyms and use the non-math font.
+            "normal" denotes the normal math font.
         font_class : str
             One of the TeX font names (as for *font*), but **not** "bb",
             "frak", or "scr".  This is used to combine two font classes.  The
@@ -341,6 +342,9 @@ def get_sized_alternatives_for_symbol(self, fontname: str,
         """
         return [(fontname, sym)]
 
+    def get_font_constants(self) -> type[FontConstantsBase]:
+        return FontConstantsBase
+
 
 class TruetypeFonts(Fonts, metaclass=abc.ABCMeta):
     """
@@ -420,7 +424,7 @@ def _get_info(self, fontname: str, font_class: str, sym: str, fontsize: float,
         )
 
     def get_axis_height(self, fontname: str, fontsize: float, dpi: float) -> float:
-        consts = _get_font_constants(self, fontname)
+        consts = self.get_font_constants()
         if consts.axis_height is not None:
             return consts.axis_height * fontsize * dpi / 72
         else:
@@ -431,7 +435,7 @@ def get_axis_height(self, fontname: str, fontsize: float, dpi: float) -> float:
             return (metrics.ymax + metrics.ymin) / 2
 
     def get_quad(self, fontname: str, fontsize: float, dpi: float) -> float:
-        consts = _get_font_constants(self, fontname)
+        consts = self.get_font_constants()
         if consts.quad is not None:
             return consts.quad * fontsize * dpi / 72
         else:
@@ -474,10 +478,11 @@ class BakomaFonts(TruetypeFonts):
     its own proprietary 8-bit encoding.
     """
     _fontmap = {
+        'normal': 'cmmi10',
         'cal': 'cmsy10',
         'rm':  'cmr10',
         'tt':  'cmtt10',
-        'it':  'cmmi10',
+        'it':  'cmti10',
         'bf':  'cmb10',
         'sf':  'cmss10',
         'ex':  'cmex10',
@@ -497,12 +502,18 @@ def __init__(self, default_font_prop: FontProperties, load_glyph_flags: LoadFlag
     def _get_glyph(self, fontname: str, font_class: str,
                    sym: str) -> tuple[FT2Font, CharacterCodeType, bool]:
         font = None
+
         if fontname in self.fontmap and sym in latex_to_bakoma:
             basename, num = latex_to_bakoma[sym]
-            slanted = (basename == "cmmi10") or sym in self._slanted_symbols
+            slanted = (basename in ("cmmi10", "cmti10")) or sym in self._slanted_symbols
             font = self._get_font(basename)
         elif len(sym) == 1:
-            slanted = (fontname == "it")
+            slanted = (fontname in ("it", "normal"))
+            if fontname == "normal" and sym.isdigit():
+                # use digits from cmr (roman alphabet) instead of cmm (math alphabet),
+                # same as LaTeX does.
+                fontname = "rm"
+                slanted = False
             font = self._get_font(fontname)
             if font is not None:
                 num = ord(sym)
@@ -551,6 +562,9 @@ def get_sized_alternatives_for_symbol(self, fontname: str,
                                           sym: str) -> list[tuple[str, str]]:
         return self._size_alternatives.get(sym, [(fontname, sym)])
 
+    def get_font_constants(self) -> type[FontConstantsBase]:
+        return ComputerModernFontConstants
+
 
 class UnicodeFonts(TruetypeFonts):
     """
@@ -630,11 +644,14 @@ def _get_glyph(self, fontname: str, font_class: str,
         # Only characters in the "Letter" class should be italicized in 'it'
         # mode.  Greek capital letters should be Roman.
         if found_symbol:
-            if fontname == 'it' and uniindex < 0x10000:
+            if fontname == 'normal' and uniindex < 0x10000:
+                # normal mathematics font
                 char = chr(uniindex)
                 if (unicodedata.category(char)[0] != "L"
                         or unicodedata.name(char).startswith("GREEK CAPITAL")):
                     new_fontname = 'rm'
+                else:
+                    new_fontname = 'it'
 
             slanted = (new_fontname == 'it') or sym in self._slanted_symbols
             found_symbol = False
@@ -651,7 +668,7 @@ def _get_glyph(self, fontname: str, font_class: str,
 
         if not found_symbol:
             if self._fallback_font:
-                if (fontname in ('it', 'regular')
+                if (fontname in ('it', 'regular', 'normal')
                         and isinstance(self._fallback_font, StixFonts)):
                     fontname = 'rm'
 
@@ -663,7 +680,7 @@ def _get_glyph(self, fontname: str, font_class: str,
                 return g
 
             else:
-                if (fontname in ('it', 'regular')
+                if (fontname in ('it', 'regular', 'normal')
                         and isinstance(self, StixFonts)):
                     return self._get_glyph('rm', font_class, sym)
                 _log.warning("Font %r does not have a glyph for %a [U+%x], "
@@ -741,6 +758,9 @@ class DejaVuSerifFonts(DejaVuFonts):
         0:    'DejaVu Serif',
     }
 
+    def get_font_constants(self) -> type[FontConstantsBase]:
+        return DejaVuSerifFontConstants
+
 
 class DejaVuSansFonts(DejaVuFonts):
     """
@@ -759,6 +779,9 @@ class DejaVuSansFonts(DejaVuFonts):
         0:    'DejaVu Sans',
     }
 
+    def get_font_constants(self) -> type[FontConstantsBase]:
+        return DejaVuSansFontConstants
+
 
 class StixFonts(UnicodeFonts):
     """
@@ -842,7 +865,7 @@ def _map_virtual_font(self, fontname: str, font_class: str,
                 fontname = mpl.rcParams['mathtext.default']
 
         # Fix some incorrect glyphs.
-        if fontname in ('rm', 'it'):
+        if fontname in ('rm', 'it', 'normal'):
             uniindex = stix_glyph_fixes.get(uniindex, uniindex)
 
         # Handle private use area glyphs
@@ -874,6 +897,12 @@ def get_sized_alternatives_for_symbol(  # type: ignore[override]
             alternatives = alternatives[:-1]
         return alternatives
 
+    def get_font_constants(self) -> type[FontConstantsBase]:
+        if self._sans:
+            return STIXSansFontConstants
+        else:
+            return STIXFontConstants
+
 
 class StixSansFonts(StixFonts):
     """
@@ -1078,45 +1107,6 @@ class DejaVuSansFontConstants(FontConstantsBase):
     axis_height = 512 / 2048
 
 
-# Maps font family names to the FontConstantBase subclass to use
-_font_constant_mapping = {
-    'DejaVu Sans': DejaVuSansFontConstants,
-    'DejaVu Sans Mono': DejaVuSansFontConstants,
-    'DejaVu Serif': DejaVuSerifFontConstants,
-    'cmb10': ComputerModernFontConstants,
-    'cmex10': ComputerModernFontConstants,
-    'cmmi10': ComputerModernFontConstants,
-    'cmr10': ComputerModernFontConstants,
-    'cmss10': ComputerModernFontConstants,
-    'cmsy10': ComputerModernFontConstants,
-    'cmtt10': ComputerModernFontConstants,
-    'STIXGeneral': STIXFontConstants,
-    'STIXNonUnicode': STIXFontConstants,
-    'STIXSizeFiveSym': STIXFontConstants,
-    'STIXSizeFourSym': STIXFontConstants,
-    'STIXSizeThreeSym': STIXFontConstants,
-    'STIXSizeTwoSym': STIXFontConstants,
-    'STIXSizeOneSym': STIXFontConstants,
-    # Map the fonts we used to ship, just for good measure
-    'Bitstream Vera Sans': DejaVuSansFontConstants,
-    'Bitstream Vera': DejaVuSansFontConstants,
-    }
-
-
-def _get_font_constants(fontset: Fonts, font: str) -> type[FontConstantsBase]:
-    constants = _font_constant_mapping.get(fontset._get_font(font).family_name,
-                                           FontConstantsBase)
-    # STIX sans isn't really its own fonts, just different code points
-    # in the STIX fonts, so we have to detect this one separately.
-    if constants is STIXFontConstants and isinstance(fontset, StixSansFonts):
-        return STIXSansFontConstants
-    return constants
-
-
-def _get_font_constant_set(state: ParserState) -> type[FontConstantsBase]:
-    return _get_font_constants(state.fontset, state.font)
-
-
 class Node:
     """A node in the TeX box model."""
 
@@ -1896,7 +1886,7 @@ def font(self) -> str:
 
     @font.setter
     def font(self, name: str) -> None:
-        if name in ('rm', 'it', 'bf', 'bfit'):
+        if name in ('normal', 'rm', 'it', 'bf', 'bfit'):
             self.font_class = name
         self._font = name
 
@@ -2068,7 +2058,7 @@ class _MathStyle(enum.Enum):
     _dropsub_symbols = set(r'\int \oint \iint \oiint \iiint \oiiint \iiiint'.split())
 
     _fontnames = set("rm cal it tt sf bf bfit "
-                     "default bb frak scr regular".split())
+                     "default bb frak scr regular normal".split())
 
     _function_names = set("""
       arccos csc ker min arcsin deg lg Pr arctan det lim sec arg dim
@@ -2325,7 +2315,7 @@ def non_math(self, toks: ParseResults) -> T.Any:
         s = toks[0].replace(r'\$', '$')
         symbols = [Char(c, self.get_state()) for c in s]
         hlist = Hlist(symbols)
-        # We're going into math now, so set font to 'it'
+        # We're going into math now, so set font to 'normal'
         self.push_state()
         self.get_state().font = mpl.rcParams['mathtext.default']
         return [hlist]
@@ -2344,13 +2334,14 @@ def _make_space(self, percentage: float) -> Kern:
         # In TeX, an em (the unit usually used to measure horizontal lengths)
         # is not the width of the character 'm'; it is the same in different
         # font styles (e.g. roman or italic). Mathtext, however, uses 'm' in
-        # the italic style so that horizontal spaces don't depend on the
+        # the normal style so that horizontal spaces don't depend on the
         # current font style.
+        # TODO: this should be read from the font file
         state = self.get_state()
         key = (state.font, state.fontsize, state.dpi)
         width = self._em_width_cache.get(key)
         if width is None:
-            width = state.fontset.get_quad('it', state.fontsize, state.dpi)
+            width = state.fontset.get_quad('normal', state.fontsize, state.dpi)
             self._em_width_cache[key] = width
         return Kern(width * percentage)
 
@@ -2649,7 +2640,7 @@ def subsuper(self, s: str, loc: int, toks: ParseResults) -> T.Any:
             nucleus = Hlist([nucleus])
 
         # Handle regular sub/superscripts
-        consts = _get_font_constant_set(state)
+        consts = state.fontset.get_font_constants()
         lc_height   = last_char.height
         lc_baseline = 0
         if self.is_dropsub(last_char):
@@ -2743,7 +2734,7 @@ def _genfrac(self, ldelim: str, rdelim: str, rule: float | None, style: _MathSty
 
         axis_height = state.fontset.get_axis_height(
             state.font, state.fontsize, state.dpi)
-        consts = _get_font_constant_set(state)
+        consts = state.fontset.get_font_constants()
         x_height = state.fontset.get_xheight(state.font, state.fontsize, state.dpi)
 
         for _ in range(style.value):
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/_mathtext_data.py b/lib/matplotlib/_mathtext_data.py
index f8b7c9ac2c33..6d0c20a1b2a2 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/_mathtext_data.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/_mathtext_data.py
@@ -161,16 +161,6 @@
     '('                          : ('cmr10', 0x28),
     ')'                          : ('cmr10', 0x29),
     '+'                          : ('cmr10', 0x2b),
-    '0'                          : ('cmr10', 0x30),
-    '1'                          : ('cmr10', 0x31),
-    '2'                          : ('cmr10', 0x32),
-    '3'                          : ('cmr10', 0x33),
-    '4'                          : ('cmr10', 0x34),
-    '5'                          : ('cmr10', 0x35),
-    '6'                          : ('cmr10', 0x36),
-    '7'                          : ('cmr10', 0x37),
-    '8'                          : ('cmr10', 0x38),
-    '9'                          : ('cmr10', 0x39),
     ':'                          : ('cmr10', 0x3a),
     ';'                          : ('cmr10', 0x3b),
     '='                          : ('cmr10', 0x3d),
@@ -1350,7 +1340,7 @@
              "\N{DOUBLE-STRUCK CAPITAL PI}"),
             ("\N{GREEK CAPITAL LETTER SIGMA}",
              "\N{GREEK CAPITAL LETTER SIGMA}",
-             "it",
+             "rm",  # not in STIX italic
              "\N{DOUBLE-STRUCK N-ARY SUMMATION}"),  # \Sigma (not in beta STIX fonts)
             ("\N{GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA}",
              "\N{GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA}",
@@ -1778,6 +1768,9 @@
     ],
 }
 
+_stix_virtual_fonts['bb']['normal'] = _stix_virtual_fonts['bb']['it']  # type:ignore[call-overload]
+_stix_virtual_fonts['sf']['normal'] = _stix_virtual_fonts['sf']['it']  # type:ignore[call-overload]
+
 
 @overload
 def _normalize_stix_fontcodes(d: _EntryTypeIn) -> _EntryTypeOut: ...
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/font_manager.py b/lib/matplotlib/font_manager.py
index e7bef5f29f46..b4076e686561 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/font_manager.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/font_manager.py
@@ -1134,7 +1134,7 @@ class FontManager:
     # Increment this version number whenever the font cache data
     # format or behavior has changed and requires an existing font
     # cache files to be rebuilt.
-    __version__ = '3.11.0a2'
+    __version__ = '3.11.0a3'
 
     def __init__(self, size=None, weight='normal'):
         self._version = self.__version__
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/mpl-data/fonts/afm/cmti10.afm b/lib/matplotlib/mpl-data/fonts/afm/cmti10.afm
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..ac9e89f676b8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/mpl-data/fonts/afm/cmti10.afm
@@ -0,0 +1,333 @@
+StartFontMetrics 2.0
+FontName cmti10
+FullName cmti10
+FamilyName cmti10
+Weight Medium
+ItalicAngle 0.000000
+IsFixedPitch false
+UnderlinePosition -133
+UnderlineThickness 20
+Version 1.1/12-Nov-94
+FontBBox -35, -250, 1125, 750
+Notice Copyright \(C\) 1994, Basil K. Malyshev. All Rights Reserved.\nBaKoMa Fonts Collection, Level-B.
+EncodingScheme FontSpecific
+CapHeight 683
+XHeight 431
+Descender -194
+Ascender 694
+StartCharMetrics 129
+C 0 ; WX 627.22 ; N Gamma ; B 59 0 706 683 ;
+C 1 ; WX 817.78 ; N Delta ; B 70 0 752 716 ;
+C 2 ; WX 766.67 ; N Theta ; B 148 -22 788 705 ;
+C 3 ; WX 692.22 ; N Lambda ; B 58 0 643 716 ;
+C 4 ; WX 664.44 ; N Xi ; B 75 0 755 683 ;
+C 5 ; WX 743.33 ; N Pi ; B 59 0 854 683 ;
+C 6 ; WX 715.56 ; N Sigma ; B 80 0 782 683 ;
+C 7 ; WX 766.67 ; N Upsilon ; B 213 0 833 705 ;
+C 8 ; WX 715.56 ; N Phi ; B 158 0 729 683 ;
+C 9 ; WX 766.67 ; N Psi ; B 211 0 825 683 ;
+C 10 ; WX 715.56 ; N Omega ; B 100 0 759 705 ;
+C 11 ; WX 613.33 ; N ff ; B -25 -205 758 705 ; L i ffi ; L l ffl ;
+C 12 ; WX 562.22 ; N fi ; B -25 -205 597 705 ;
+C 13 ; WX 587.78 ; N fl ; B -25 -205 639 705 ;
+C 14 ; WX 881.67 ; N ffi ; B -25 -205 917 705 ;
+C 15 ; WX 894.44 ; N ffl ; B -25 -205 945 705 ;
+C 16 ; WX 306.67 ; N dotlessi ; B 81 -11 334 442 ;
+C 17 ; WX 332.22 ; N dotlessj ; B -35 -205 322 442 ;
+C 18 ; WX 511.11 ; N grave ; B 291 503 433 696 ;
+C 19 ; WX 511.11 ; N acute ; B 339 503 551 696 ;
+C 20 ; WX 511.11 ; N caron ; B 279 505 538 633 ;
+C 21 ; WX 511.11 ; N breve ; B 280 521 567 694 ;
+C 22 ; WX 511.11 ; N macron ; B 232 555 566 589 ;
+C 23 ; WX 831.28 ; N ring ; B 476 541 670 716 ;
+C 24 ; WX 460 ; N cedilla ; B 99 -194 338 0 ;
+C 25 ; WX 536.67 ; N germandbls ; B -20 -205 578 705 ;
+C 26 ; WX 715.56 ; N ae ; B 90 -11 721 442 ;
+C 27 ; WX 715.56 ; N oe ; B 106 -15 721 446 ;
+C 28 ; WX 511.11 ; N oslash ; B 66 -109 553 540 ;
+C 29 ; WX 882.78 ; N AE ; B 59 0 949 683 ;
+C 30 ; WX 985 ; N OE ; B 162 -22 1051 705 ;
+C 31 ; WX 766.67 ; N Oslash ; B 120 -62 818 745 ;
+C 32 ; WX 255.56 ; N polishlcross ; B 91 280 345 393 ;
+C 33 ; WX 306.67 ; N exclam ; B 111 0 376 716 ; L quoteleft exclamdown ;
+C 34 ; WX 514.44 ; N quotedblright ; B 176 390 520 694 ;
+C 35 ; WX 817.78 ; N numbersign ; B 115 -194 828 694 ;
+C 36 ; WX 769.11 ; N dollar ; B 88 -11 698 709 ;
+C 37 ; WX 817.78 ; N percent ; B 145 -56 847 750 ;
+C 38 ; WX 766.67 ; N ampersand ; B 127 -22 803 716 ;
+C 39 ; WX 306.67 ; N quoteright ; B 218 390 375 694 ; L quoteright quotedblright ;
+C 40 ; WX 408.89 ; N parenleft ; B 150 -250 517 750 ;
+C 41 ; WX 408.89 ; N parenright ; B 17 -250 384 750 ;
+C 42 ; WX 511.11 ; N asterisk ; B 195 319 584 750 ;
+C 43 ; WX 766.67 ; N plus ; B 140 -57 753 557 ;
+C 44 ; WX 306.67 ; N comma ; B 72 -194 226 110 ;
+C 45 ; WX 357.78 ; N hyphen ; B 85 185 340 245 ; L hyphen endash ;
+C 46 ; WX 306.67 ; N period ; B 111 0 224 110 ;
+C 47 ; WX 511.11 ; N slash ; B 20 -250 617 750 ;
+C 48 ; WX 511.11 ; N zero ; B 115 -22 556 666 ;
+C 49 ; WX 511.11 ; N one ; B 115 0 463 666 ;
+C 50 ; WX 511.11 ; N two ; B 82 -22 551 666 ;
+C 51 ; WX 511.11 ; N three ; B 95 -22 562 666 ;
+C 52 ; WX 511.11 ; N four ; B 44 -194 475 666 ;
+C 53 ; WX 511.11 ; N five ; B 107 -22 567 666 ;
+C 54 ; WX 511.11 ; N six ; B 120 -22 567 666 ;
+C 55 ; WX 511.11 ; N seven ; B 142 -22 628 666 ;
+C 56 ; WX 511.11 ; N eight ; B 97 -22 554 666 ;
+C 57 ; WX 511.11 ; N nine ; B 105 -22 553 666 ;
+C 58 ; WX 306.67 ; N colon ; B 111 0 305 431 ;
+C 59 ; WX 306.67 ; N semicolon ; B 72 -194 305 431 ;
+C 60 ; WX 306.67 ; N exclamdown ; B 57 -216 322 500 ;
+C 61 ; WX 766.67 ; N equal ; B 115 133 776 367 ;
+C 62 ; WX 511.11 ; N questiondown ; B 85 -216 442 500 ;
+C 63 ; WX 511.11 ; N question ; B 194 0 551 716 ; L quoteleft questiondown ;
+C 64 ; WX 766.67 ; N at ; B 151 -11 789 705 ;
+C 65 ; WX 743.33 ; N A ; B 58 0 693 716 ;
+C 66 ; WX 703.89 ; N B ; B 62 0 734 683 ;
+C 67 ; WX 715.56 ; N C ; B 150 -22 813 705 ;
+C 68 ; WX 755 ; N D ; B 60 0 775 683 ;
+C 69 ; WX 678.33 ; N E ; B 59 0 744 683 ;
+C 70 ; WX 652.78 ; N F ; B 59 0 732 683 ;
+C 71 ; WX 773.61 ; N G ; B 150 -22 813 705 ;
+C 72 ; WX 743.33 ; N H ; B 59 0 854 683 ;
+C 73 ; WX 385.56 ; N I ; B 55 0 503 683 ;
+C 74 ; WX 525 ; N J ; B 90 -22 622 683 ;
+C 75 ; WX 768.89 ; N K ; B 59 0 860 683 ;
+C 76 ; WX 627.22 ; N L ; B 59 0 626 683 ;
+C 77 ; WX 896.67 ; N M ; B 63 0 1004 683 ;
+C 78 ; WX 743.33 ; N N ; B 59 0 854 683 ;
+C 79 ; WX 766.67 ; N O ; B 148 -22 788 705 ;
+C 80 ; WX 678.33 ; N P ; B 60 0 730 683 ;
+C 81 ; WX 766.67 ; N Q ; B 148 -194 788 705 ;
+C 82 ; WX 729.44 ; N R ; B 60 -22 723 683 ;
+C 83 ; WX 562.22 ; N S ; B 74 -22 633 705 ;
+C 84 ; WX 715.56 ; N T ; B 175 0 808 683 ;
+C 85 ; WX 743.33 ; N U ; B 200 -22 854 683 ;
+C 86 ; WX 743.33 ; N V ; B 208 -22 868 683 ;
+C 87 ; WX 998.89 ; N W ; B 207 -22 1125 683 ;
+C 88 ; WX 743.33 ; N X ; B 50 0 825 683 ;
+C 89 ; WX 743.33 ; N Y ; B 201 0 875 683 ;
+C 90 ; WX 613.33 ; N Z ; B 79 0 704 683 ;
+C 91 ; WX 306.67 ; N bracketleft ; B 73 -250 446 750 ;
+C 92 ; WX 514.44 ; N quotedblleft ; B 265 390 609 694 ;
+C 93 ; WX 306.67 ; N bracketright ; B -14 -250 359 750 ;
+C 94 ; WX 511.11 ; N circumflex ; B 264 533 524 694 ;
+C 95 ; WX 306.67 ; N dotaccent ; B 251 559 364 669 ;
+C 96 ; WX 306.67 ; N quoteleft ; B 204 390 361 694 ; L quoteleft quotedblleft ;
+C 97 ; WX 511.11 ; N a ; B 107 -11 538 442 ;
+C 98 ; WX 460 ; N b ; B 113 -11 461 694 ;
+C 99 ; WX 460 ; N c ; B 108 -11 470 442 ;
+C 100 ; WX 511.11 ; N d ; B 107 -11 562 694 ;
+C 101 ; WX 460 ; N e ; B 112 -11 468 442 ;
+C 102 ; WX 306.67 ; N f ; B -25 -205 452 705 ; L i fi ; L f ff ; L l fl ;
+C 103 ; WX 460 ; N g ; B 51 -205 489 442 ;
+C 104 ; WX 511.11 ; N h ; B 74 -11 538 694 ;
+C 105 ; WX 306.67 ; N i ; B 81 -11 334 656 ;
+C 106 ; WX 306.67 ; N j ; B -35 -205 359 656 ;
+C 107 ; WX 460 ; N k ; B 74 -11 501 694 ;
+C 108 ; WX 255.56 ; N l ; B 92 -11 308 694 ;
+C 109 ; WX 817.78 ; N m ; B 81 -11 845 442 ;
+C 110 ; WX 562.22 ; N n ; B 81 -11 589 442 ;
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diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/mpl-data/fonts/ttf/cmti10.ttf b/lib/matplotlib/mpl-data/fonts/ttf/cmti10.ttf
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..8311a98ac9e3
Binary files /dev/null and b/lib/matplotlib/mpl-data/fonts/ttf/cmti10.ttf differ
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/mpl-data/matplotlibrc b/lib/matplotlib/mpl-data/matplotlibrc
index 4fd08aa60578..01a2f37bfd9d 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/mpl-data/matplotlibrc
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/mpl-data/matplotlibrc
@@ -375,10 +375,10 @@
                         # 'stixsans'] when a symbol cannot be found in one of the
                         # custom math fonts. Select 'None' to not perform fallback
                         # and replace the missing character by a dummy symbol.
-#mathtext.default: it  # The default font to use for math.
-                       # Can be any of the LaTeX font names, including
-                       # the special name "regular" for the same font
-                       # used in regular text.
+#mathtext.default: normal  # The default font to use for math.
+                           # Can be any of the LaTeX font names (normal, it, bf,
+                           # etc.), including the special name "regular" for the
+                           # same font used in regular text.
 
 
 ## ***************************************************************************
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/mpl-data/stylelib/classic.mplstyle b/lib/matplotlib/mpl-data/stylelib/classic.mplstyle
index cd636d65c7c8..302a25ca29a9 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/mpl-data/stylelib/classic.mplstyle
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/mpl-data/stylelib/classic.mplstyle
@@ -162,10 +162,10 @@ mathtext.fallback: cm  # Select fallback font from ['cm' (Computer Modern), 'sti
                        # custom math fonts. Select 'None' to not perform fallback
                        # and replace the missing character by a dummy.
 
-mathtext.default : it # The default font to use for math.
-                      # Can be any of the LaTeX font names, including
-                      # the special name "regular" for the same font
-                      # used in regular text.
+mathtext.default: normal  # The default font to use for math.
+                          # Can be any of the LaTeX font names (normal, it, bf,
+                          # etc.), including the special name "regular" for the
+                          # same font used in regular text.
 
 ### AXES
 # default face and edge color, default tick sizes,
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/rcsetup.py b/lib/matplotlib/rcsetup.py
index f70697fdab45..4d0d2ccf89be 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/rcsetup.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/rcsetup.py
@@ -1093,7 +1093,7 @@ def _convert_validator_spec(key, conv):
     "mathtext.fontset":        ["dejavusans", "dejavuserif", "cm", "stix",
                                 "stixsans", "custom"],
     "mathtext.default":        ["rm", "cal", "bfit", "it", "tt", "sf", "bf", "default",
-                                "bb", "frak", "scr", "regular"],
+                                "bb", "frak", "scr", "regular", "normal"],
     "mathtext.fallback":       _validate_mathtext_fallback,
 
     "image.aspect":              validate_aspect,  # equal, auto, a number
@@ -1886,9 +1886,9 @@ class _Param:
                     "math fonts. Select 'None' to not perform fallback and replace the "
                     "missing character by a dummy symbol."
     ),
-    _Param("mathtext.default", "it",
+    _Param("mathtext.default", "normal",
            ["rm", "cal", "bfit", "it", "tt", "sf", "bf", "default", "bb", "frak", "scr",
-            "regular", ],
+            "regular", "normal"],
            description='The default font to use for math. Can be any of the LaTeX font '
                     'names, including the special name "regular" for the same font '
                     'used in regular text.',
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_mathtext.py b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_mathtext.py
index 46cc253ad945..51963bd590cc 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_mathtext.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_mathtext.py
@@ -571,6 +571,13 @@ def test_boldsymbol(fig_test, fig_ref):
     fig_ref.text(0.1, 0.2, r"$\mathrm{abc0123\alpha}$")
 
 
+@check_figures_equal()
+def test_mathnormal(fig_test, fig_ref):
+    # ensure that \mathnormal is parsed and sets digits upright
+    fig_test.text(0.1, 0.2, r"$\mathnormal{0123456789}$")
+    fig_ref.text(0.1, 0.2, r"$\mathrm{0123456789}$")
+
+
 def test_box_repr():
     s = repr(_mathtext.Parser().parse(
         r"$\frac{1}{2}$",