Meta
Meta was last recorded in 2021, when 10 babies were given it; 6,211 Americans have been recorded with it between 1880 and 2021 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,380 Americans named Meta and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (22% of everyone recorded); the median is 65 years old and half are between 48 and 74.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Meta by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Meta mean?
Wiktionary, German section
Meta is “a female given name, variant of Margarete, popular in Germany around 1900”
/ˈmeːta/
Meaning: Wiktionary, German section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Meta?
Unranked in 2025
Its last girls’ rank on record is #10,067, in 2021; SSA lists a name only in years with 5 or more births.
127 babies in 1892, the peak
Meta peaked in 1892, when 127 girls were given it, #231 among girls’ names. It was not recorded in 2025.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 10 | #10,067 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 5 | #16,716 | under 0.01 |
| 2019 | 6 | #14,976 | under 0.01 |
| 2018 | 13 | #8,450 | 0.01 |
| 2016 | 10 | #10,600 | 0.01 |
| 2014 | 14 | #8,354 | 0.01 |
| 2012 | 9 | #11,917 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 8 | #12,975 | under 0.01 |
| 2009 | 5 | #19,242 | under 0.01 |
| 2008 | 9 | #12,268 | under 0.01 |
Every recorded year (135)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 10 | #11,370 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 11 | #10,386 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 6 | #15,790 | under 0.01 |
| 2004 | 6 | #15,423 | under 0.01 |
| 2003 | 11 | #9,484 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 5 | #17,215 | under 0.01 |
| 2001 | 5 | #17,046 | under 0.01 |
| 2000 | 10 | #9,645 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 7 | #11,655 | under 0.01 |
| 1996 | 5 | #15,023 | under 0.01 |
| 1995 | 9 | #9,268 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 7 | #11,341 | under 0.01 |
| 1992 | 10 | #8,504 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 8 | #9,913 | under 0.01 |
| 1990 | 7 | #10,965 | under 0.01 |
| 1989 | 9 | #8,493 | under 0.01 |
| 1988 | 11 | #6,950 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 10 | #7,146 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 8 | #8,219 | under 0.01 |
| 1985 | 7 | #8,931 | under 0.01 |
| 1984 | 10 | #6,602 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 9 | #7,086 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 16 | #4,646 | 0.01 |
| 1981 | 16 | #4,658 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 13 | #5,433 | 0.01 |
| 1979 | 25 | #3,299 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 15 | #4,596 | 0.01 |
| 1977 | 16 | #4,350 | 0.01 |
| 1976 | 8 | #7,035 | 0.01 |
| 1975 | 23 | #3,120 | 0.02 |
| 1974 | 14 | #4,367 | 0.01 |
| 1973 | 19 | #3,421 | 0.01 |
| 1972 | 8 | #6,348 | 0.01 |
| 1971 | 17 | #3,746 | 0.01 |
| 1970 | 19 | #3,389 | 0.01 |
| 1969 | 17 | #3,412 | 0.01 |
| 1968 | 18 | #3,127 | 0.01 |
| 1967 | 19 | #2,937 | 0.01 |
| 1966 | 36 | #1,942 | 0.02 |
| 1965 | 32 | #2,099 | 0.02 |
| 1964 | 33 | #2,096 | 0.02 |
| 1963 | 37 | #1,940 | 0.02 |
| 1962 | 43 | #1,748 | 0.02 |
| 1961 | 47 | #1,654 | 0.02 |
| 1960 | 41 | #1,781 | 0.02 |
| 1959 | 42 | #1,710 | 0.02 |
| 1958 | 43 | #1,645 | 0.02 |
| 1957 | 42 | #1,672 | 0.02 |
| 1956 | 46 | #1,572 | 0.02 |
| 1955 | 37 | #1,720 | 0.02 |
| 1954 | 42 | #1,574 | 0.02 |
| 1953 | 69 | #1,169 | 0.04 |
| 1952 | 56 | #1,275 | 0.03 |
| 1951 | 36 | #1,595 | 0.02 |
| 1950 | 38 | #1,516 | 0.02 |
| 1949 | 34 | #1,619 | 0.02 |
| 1948 | 31 | #1,697 | 0.02 |
| 1947 | 34 | #1,654 | 0.02 |
| 1946 | 30 | #1,637 | 0.02 |
| 1945 | 30 | #1,503 | 0.02 |
| 1944 | 31 | #1,478 | 0.02 |
| 1943 | 18 | #2,123 | 0.01 |
| 1942 | 42 | #1,241 | 0.03 |
| 1941 | 47 | #1,079 | 0.04 |
| 1940 | 36 | #1,236 | 0.03 |
| 1939 | 38 | #1,191 | 0.03 |
| 1938 | 32 | #1,307 | 0.03 |
| 1937 | 31 | #1,324 | 0.03 |
| 1936 | 46 | #1,029 | 0.04 |
| 1935 | 44 | #1,049 | 0.04 |
| 1934 | 37 | #1,180 | 0.04 |
| 1933 | 41 | #1,095 | 0.04 |
| 1932 | 43 | #1,092 | 0.04 |
| 1931 | 36 | #1,215 | 0.03 |
| 1930 | 43 | #1,138 | 0.04 |
| 1929 | 46 | #1,088 | 0.04 |
| 1928 | 58 | #979 | 0.05 |
| 1927 | 56 | #1,033 | 0.05 |
| 1926 | 68 | #906 | 0.06 |
| 1925 | 79 | #840 | 0.06 |
| 1924 | 76 | #863 | 0.06 |
| 1923 | 98 | #739 | 0.08 |
| 1922 | 81 | #815 | 0.07 |
| 1921 | 102 | #730 | 0.08 |
| 1920 | 92 | #761 | 0.08 |
| 1919 | 94 | #723 | 0.08 |
| 1918 | 117 | #656 | 0.10 |
| 1917 | 112 | #645 | 0.10 |
| 1916 | 122 | #613 | 0.12 |
| 1915 | 126 | #580 | 0.13 |
| 1914 | 99 | #568 | 0.13 |
| 1913 | 92 | #533 | 0.15 |
| 1912 | 85 | #529 | 0.15 |
| 1911 | 55 | #582 | 0.13 |
| 1910 | 48 | #608 | 0.12 |
| 1909 | 58 | #492 | 0.17 |
| 1908 | 67 | #443 | 0.20 |
| 1907 | 70 | #429 | 0.22 |
| 1906 | 82 | #380 | 0.28 |
| 1905 | 72 | #398 | 0.25 |
| 1904 | 62 | #409 | 0.23 |
| 1903 | 78 | #364 | 0.30 |
| 1902 | 83 | #350 | 0.31 |
| 1901 | 106 | #296 | 0.44 |
| 1900 | 96 | #340 | 0.32 |
| 1899 | 107 | #280 | 0.46 |
| 1898 | 100 | #314 | 0.39 |
| 1897 | 109 | #272 | 0.47 |
| 1896 | 122 | #257 | 0.51 |
| 1895 | 122 | #255 | 0.52 |
| 1894 | 93 | #287 | 0.42 |
| 1893 | 118 | #244 | 0.55 |
| 1892 | 127 | #231 | 0.60 |
| 1891 | 91 | #256 | 0.49 |
| 1890 | 115 | #227 | 0.60 |
| 1889 | 85 | #255 | 0.48 |
| 1888 | 99 | #232 | 0.55 |
| 1887 | 71 | #250 | 0.49 |
| 1886 | 77 | #234 | 0.53 |
| 1885 | 72 | #234 | 0.54 |
| 1884 | 76 | #217 | 0.59 |
| 1883 | 52 | #250 | 0.46 |
| 1882 | 51 | #243 | 0.47 |
| 1881 | 30 | #287 | 0.33 |
| 1880 | 37 | #253 | 0.41 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Meta a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Meta has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 135 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Meta: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Meta, and how old are they?
1,380 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 22% of the 6,211 Americans ever recorded as Meta. The median Meta alive today is 65 years old; half are between 48 and 74.
The 2020 Census counted 1,800 people named Meta (1,773 women and girls, 27 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,597 born in the U.S. The Census count is 13% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 191 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 609 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 276 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 138 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 101 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 58 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Meta born?
The states with the most babies named Meta are New York, Texas and Wisconsin, with 44% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Wisconsin is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 194 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Texas | 147 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Wisconsin | 134 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| North Carolina | 105 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 104 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Minnesota | 45 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Missouri | 45 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Pennsylvania | 43 | not ranked | 0.2× |
| South Carolina | 41 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| California | 40 | not ranked | 0.2× |
Where Meta is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Meta is most over-represented in Wisconsin: since 1910 it was given 1.5 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Meta with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 3 names spelled alike, given to 7,402 babies since 1880, Meta is the most given (84% of them).
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Meta
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Meta and names like it
- Compare Meta and MettaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1890sMeta peaked in 1892.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Meta since 1910.
- German namesWiktionary’s origin for Meta: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1892The year the most babies were named Meta.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Meta alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with MMost given first.