Meta
Feminine · “pearl”
Meta is Margareta contracted the German way — from the middle rather than the front — which is why it sounds nothing like Margaret and everything like a name in its own right.
How old is the name Meta?
Meta was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Meta alive today was born around 1916, making them about 109 years old. About 1,500 people named Meta are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Meta most popular?
Meta peaked in 1884, reaching #216 nationally. See the whole 1884 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From margarites to Meta
The story of Meta
Margareta was among the commonest women's names in the German-speaking lands and in Scandinavia for centuries, and each language produced its own contractions: Grete and Gretchen in German, Meta and Mette in Danish and northern German, Marit in Norwegian. German and Scandinavian emigration brought Meta to America in the nineteenth century, where it appears in real numbers and peaked around 1885.
Meaning
pearl
Through Margareta, from the Greek margarites, 'pearl'. German familiar forms are made by contraction rather than by clipping the end, which produces Grete, Meta and Metta from the same parent. The pearl reading is undisputed.
How the name formed
- margarites
- Margareta
- Meta
Related forms: Meta · Mette · Meta · Margaret
Pronouncing Meta
MAY-tuh
Two syllables, stress on the first. German and Danish give the first vowel a purer quality; some American families said MEE-tuh instead.
Nicknames for Meta
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 1896122 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #216reached in 1884
- Change vs 2018
- −23.1%10 in 2021, from 13
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Meta in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Meta in German — same name
- Mette in Danish — related form
- Meta in Swedish — same name
- Margaret in English — related form
Metas among us
people named Meta are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Meta has already lived its whole cycle: it rose, had its era, and has stepped off the charts. The fashion question is behind it — what lies ahead is the waiting room where revivals begin, once a name's first generation has grown distant enough for it to sound fresh again.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Margaret stands behind it with a thousand years of European use and a transparent meaning.
- A genuine German and Scandinavian name rather than an American construction.
- Four letters, two syllables, and easy for a child to write early.
- The English prefix 'meta-' is now heavily used in technical and cultural language, which the name cannot avoid.
- Two pronunciations of the first vowel are recorded in American use.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Meta to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Meta? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Meta
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Metas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,500 people named Meta are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Meta in 2025?
- Meta is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Meta with classmates?
- Meta will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Mary#125 · Margaret#112 · Michelle#465 · Melissa#419 · Maria#87 · Martha#712 · Marie#617 · Mildred#1962
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Meta? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Meta and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle