Meranda
A feminine name of unknown origin, possibly meaning "worthy to be admired".
Name Census estimates that about 2,774 living Americans carry the first name Meranda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Meranda today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Meranda births was 1994 (186 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Meranda. 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
2.8K
~ 1 in 123,560 Americans
Peak year
1994
186 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2013 SSA rank
#10,756
Tracked since 1957
Census
Meranda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,350 people with the first name Meranda, which placed it at #6,730 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
#6,730
National first-name rank
People counted
2.4K
2,350 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Meranda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meranda is White at 69.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.7%) and Black (6.0%). 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 Meranda 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 Meranda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.4% · 1,631
- Hispanic or Latino16.7% · 392
- Black or African American6.0% · 142
- Two or more races5.0% · 118
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 24
Popularity
Meranda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Meranda from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 1,431 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Meranda 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 Meranda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Merandas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 28 states and territories. Texas, Ohio, California recorded the most babies named Meranda, while Wisconsin, New Jersey, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 42 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Meranda
The name Meranda is derived from the Latin word "miranda," which means "admirable" or "wonderful." It is believed to have originated in the late Roman period, around the 3rd or 4th century AD. The name was initially used in various regions of the Roman Empire, particularly in Italy and parts of Europe.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Meranda can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Livy, who lived from 59 BC to 17 AD. In his work "Ab Urbe Condita" (From the Founding of the City), he mentioned a woman named Meranda who was renowned for her exceptional beauty and virtue.
During the Middle Ages, the name Meranda gained popularity among the noble families of Italy and France. It was often associated with individuals of high social standing and was considered a name befitting of nobility. One notable figure from this period was Meranda de Montfort (1192-1257), a French noblewoman and the wife of Simon de Montfort, a prominent leader during the Albigensian Crusade.
In the Renaissance era, the name Meranda continued to be used, particularly in artistic and literary circles. A famous bearer of the name was Meranda Buti (1435-1490), an Italian poet and scholar who was renowned for her works in Latin and Greek.
Moving into the 17th century, the name Meranda was adopted by various Protestant families in Europe, particularly in England and Germany. One notable figure from this time was Meranda Bunbury (1602-1681), an English writer and poet who was celebrated for her religious works.
Another significant figure in history with the name Meranda was Meranda von Kügelgen (1770-1858), a German painter and writer who was renowned for her portraits and landscapes. She was a prominent figure in the Romantic movement and was highly respected for her artistic talents.
While the name Meranda has retained its charm and uniqueness over the centuries, it has never been among the most widely used names. However, its rich history and connections to notable individuals from various fields have contributed to its enduring appeal and significance.
People
Meranda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Meranda 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
Meranda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Meranda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,774 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Meranda 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 123,560 US residents.
Is Meranda a common name?
We classify Meranda as "Rare". It ranks above 94.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,901 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Meranda most popular?
The single biggest year for Meranda was 1994, when 186 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Meranda is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Meranda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,350 people with the name Meranda, or 0.78 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,730 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 Meranda 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 Meranda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Meranda appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,350 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 Meranda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meranda is White at 69.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.7%) and Black (6.0%). 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 Meranda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Meranda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.4% (1,631 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 Meranda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Meranda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Meranda 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 Meranda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Meranda 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 Meranda 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 Meranda?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.