Meara
A feminine name of Irish origin meaning "the shining one".
Name Census estimates that about 1,359 living Americans carry the first name Meara. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Meara today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Meara births was 2015 (72 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Meara. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Meara with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 252,211 Americans
Peak year
2015
72 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,249
Tracked since 1973
Census
Meara in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,212 people with the first name Meara, which placed it at #10,823 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
#10,823
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,212 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
85.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Meara
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meara is White at 85.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.8%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Meara 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 Meara at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.0% · 1,030
- Two or more races6.8% · 83
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 39
- Black or African American2.6% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 5
Popularity
Meara: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Meara from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 540 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Meara remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Meara 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 Meara during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mearas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. California, Ohio, Illinois recorded the most babies named Meara, while Virginia, Indiana, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Meara
The name Meara is of Celtic origin, with roots in the Gaelic and Irish languages. It is believed to have emerged in the early medieval period, around the 5th to 6th centuries CE, in the regions of Ireland and Scotland.
Meara is derived from the Gaelic word "muir," which means "sea" or "ocean." This connection to the sea suggests that the name may have been given to individuals living in coastal areas or those with a close association with maritime life. Some linguists also link it to the Old Irish word "mara," meaning "great" or "excellent."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Meara can be found in the ancient Irish text, the Annals of Ulster, which mentions a woman named Meara ingen Domnaill (Meara, daughter of Domnall) in the year 637 CE. This historical reference suggests that the name was in use during the early medieval period in Ireland.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Meara. One of the most famous was Meara, Queen of Connacht, who ruled in the 7th century CE. She was known for her political influence and her support of the church during her reign.
Another prominent figure was Meara ingen Scandail, a 9th-century Irish princess and daughter of the King of Uí Failghe. She was renowned for her beauty and her patronage of the arts.
In the 12th century, Meara Ní Chonchobair was an Irish noblewoman and the wife of Ruaidri Ua Conchobair, the last High King of Ireland. She played a significant role in the political affairs of her time.
Moving to more recent times, Meara Hackett (1908-1997) was an Irish playwright and novelist, known for her works that explored themes of love, loss, and the human condition.
Lastly, Meara Rubicam (1966-present) is a contemporary American artist and sculptor, recognized for her large-scale public installations and her innovative use of materials.
These examples demonstrate the enduring presence of the name Meara throughout various periods and cultures, with individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions bearing this name with pride.
People
Meara + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Meara 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
Meara: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Meara?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,359 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Meara 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 252,211 US residents.
Is Meara a common name?
We classify Meara as "Rare". It ranks above 91.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,383 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Meara most popular?
The single biggest year for Meara was 2015, when 72 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Meara is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Meara in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,212 people with the name Meara, or 0.40 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,823 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 Meara 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 Meara?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Meara appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,207 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Meara?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meara is White at 85.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.8%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Meara most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Meara in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.0% (1,030 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 Meara in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Meara a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Meara in the SSA data are female. 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 Meara still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Meara 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 Meara 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 share the name Meara?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.