Meta
A name derived from the Greek preposition meaning "beyond" or "after".
Name Census estimates that about 1,288 living Americans carry the first name Meta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Meta today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Meta births was 1892 (127 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Meta. 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 Meta with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 266,114 Americans
Peak year
1892
127 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
2021 SSA rank
#10,068
Tracked since 1880
Census
Meta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,803 people with the first name Meta, which placed it at #8,120 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
#8,120
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,803 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Meta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meta is White at 71.1%. The next largest groups are Black (18.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%). 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 Meta 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 Meta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.1% · 1,282
- Black or African American18.5% · 333
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 67
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 57
- Two or more races2.3% · 42
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 22
Popularity
Meta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Meta from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1890s, with 1,104 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1890s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Meta 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 Meta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Metas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 24 states and territories. New York, Texas, Wisconsin recorded the most babies named Meta, while South Dakota, Indiana, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 45 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Meta
The name Meta is derived from the Latin word "meta," which means "end," "goal," or "boundary." It has its origins in ancient Rome and was initially used as a term in the philosophical and intellectual circles of the time.
In ancient Greek philosophy, the concept of "meta" was explored by thinkers like Aristotle, who used it to describe the study of the fundamental principles and underlying nature of things. This concept was later adopted by the Romans, who incorporated it into their language and culture.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Meta can be found in Roman literature, where it was used as a symbolic representation of the pursuit of knowledge and the quest for understanding the deeper truths of the universe.
Throughout history, the name Meta has been associated with scholars, philosophers, and intellectuals. One notable figure who bore this name was Meta Moller (1765-1828), a Danish writer and translator who played a significant role in introducing the works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe to Danish readers.
Another influential individual named Meta was Meta Haussen (1876-1958), a Norwegian feminist and activist who campaigned for women's rights and advocated for gender equality in education and employment.
In the realm of literature, Meta Kuspis (1868-1953) was a prominent Lithuanian writer and poet who contributed significantly to the development of Lithuanian literature in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The name Meta also gained recognition in the field of science and technology. Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller (1877-1968) was an American sculptor and artist, known for her works depicting African American subjects and themes.
Additionally, Meta Lilienthal (1886-1975) was a German aviator and one of the first women in the world to earn a pilot's license. She played a pioneering role in the early days of aviation and helped pave the way for future generations of female pilots.
While the name Meta has its roots in ancient times, it has endured throughout the ages, transcending cultural and linguistic boundaries. Its association with the pursuit of knowledge, intellectual curiosity, and the exploration of the unknown has made it a timeless name that continues to inspire and captivate.
People
Meta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Meta 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
Meta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Meta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,288 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Meta 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 266,114 US residents.
Is Meta a common name?
We classify Meta as "Rare". It ranks above 91.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,211 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Meta most popular?
The single biggest year for Meta was 1892, when 127 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Meta 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 Meta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,803 people with the name Meta, or 0.60 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,120 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 Meta 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 Meta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Meta leans strongly female. 1,773 people counted with this name were female (98.5%), compared with 27 male bearers (1.5%). 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 Meta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Meta is White at 71.1%. The next largest groups are Black (18.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%). 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 Meta most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Meta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.1% (1,282 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 Meta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Meta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Meta 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 Meta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Meta 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 Meta 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 have Meta as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Meta on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.