Meade
A English name derived from the word "meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 206 living Americans carry the first name Meade. It is a predominantly male name (98.8% of registrations). The average person named Meade today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Meade births was 1918 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Meade. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
206
~ 1 in 1,663,856 Americans
Peak year
1918
20 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
2013 SSA rank
#9,990
Tracked since 1913
Census
Meade in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 387 people with the first name Meade, which placed it at #24,748 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#24,748
National first-name rank
People counted
387
387 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
85.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Meade
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meade is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Black (7.2%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Meade described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Meade at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.3% · 330
- Black or African American7.2% · 28
- Two or more races3.9% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Meade
Meade leans heavily male at 98.8% of total registrations, but 6 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Meade as a male name
- Ranked #13,395 in 2013
- 5 male births in 2013
- Peak: 1918 (20 births)
Meade as a female name
- Ranked #9,990 in 1982
- 6 female births in 1982
- Peak: 1982 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Meade on both sides of the split. Of the 394 people counted with this name, 311 were male (78.9%) and 83 were female (21.1%).
Popularity
Meade: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Meade from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 120 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Meade by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Meade during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Meades live
Origin
Meaning and history of Meade
The name Meade is an English given name with roots tracing back to the Old English word "mæd," meaning "meadow." This name was originally used to describe someone who lived near or worked on a meadow or grassland area. It was a topographical name, reflecting the landscape and environment of the person's home or occupation.
In the Middle Ages, the name Meade was particularly common in the counties of Kent and Sussex in southern England. It was often spelled as "Mede" or "Meade," with various regional dialect variations. The name's popularity likely stemmed from the agricultural nature of these areas, where meadows and pastures were abundant.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Meade can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings and population in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appeared in various forms, such as "Mede" and "Medius," indicating its usage during the Norman period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Meade. One famous example is George Gordon Meade (1815-1872), a renowned American military officer who commanded the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. His victory at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 is considered a turning point in the war.
Another prominent figure was Meade Lux Lewis (1905-1964), an American jazz pianist and composer known for his virtuosic playing style and contributions to the Harlem stride piano tradition. His influential recordings from the 1920s and 1930s helped shape the development of early jazz music.
In the realm of literature, Meade Layne Egan (1908-1998) was an American writer and philosopher who founded the Egan School of Thought, a metaphysical and spiritual movement. His works explored topics such as reincarnation, astral projection, and the nature of consciousness.
Meade Alcorn (1920-1999) was an American lawyer and prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement. He played a crucial role in the desegregation of public schools in Virginia and fought against racial discrimination through legal means.
Meade Lux Lewis Amerson (1939-2019), an American businessman and entrepreneur, founded the successful clothing company Mede Wear, which specialized in outdoor apparel and accessories. His company's name was a nod to his given name, Meade.
It's important to note that while the name Meade has a long and rich history, its popularity has waned in recent decades, particularly in the United States and other English-speaking countries. Nevertheless, its enduring presence throughout the centuries serves as a testament to its unique linguistic and cultural origins.
People
Meade + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Meade as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Meade: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Meade?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 206 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Meade going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,663,856 US residents.
Is Meade a common name?
We classify Meade as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 521 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Meade most popular?
The single biggest year for Meade was 1918, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Meade is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Meade in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 387 people with the name Meade, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,748 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Meade in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Meade?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Meade on both sides of the split. Of the 394 people counted with this name, 311 were male (78.9%) and 83 were female (21.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Meade?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meade is White at 85.3%. The next largest groups are Black (7.2%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Meade most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Meade in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.3% (330 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Meade in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Meade a male name?
Yes, 98.8% of people registered as Meade in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Meade still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Meade in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Meade can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Meade?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.