Metta
A Buddhist word meaning loving-kindness, friendliness, and goodwill.
Name Census estimates that about 256 living Americans carry the first name Metta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Metta today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Metta births was 1924 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Metta. 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
256
~ 1 in 1,338,884 Americans
Peak year
1924
25 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2021 SSA rank
#11,820
Tracked since 1880
Census
Metta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 498 people with the first name Metta, which placed it at #20,655 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
#20,655
National first-name rank
People counted
498
498 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Metta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Metta is White at 68.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (17.3%) and Black (6.8%). 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 Metta 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 Metta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.7% · 342
- Asian and Pacific Islander17.3% · 86
- Black or African American6.8% · 34
- Two or more races4.0% · 20
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 4
Popularity
Metta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Metta from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 170 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
Metta 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 Metta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mettas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Metta
The name Metta finds its roots in the Pali language, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that served as the lingua franca of Buddhist scriptures and literature. It is derived from the Pali word "metta," which translates to "loving-kindness" or "benevolence." This potent term carries profound significance in Buddhist teachings, often described as the pinnacle of noble emotions.
The earliest recorded use of the name Metta can be traced back to the Pali Canon, a vast collection of Buddhist scriptures that date back to the 5th century BCE. In these sacred texts, the concept of metta is celebrated as a profound spiritual practice, encouraging the cultivation of unconditional love, compassion, and goodwill towards all sentient beings.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Metta. One of the earliest recorded individuals was Metta Vihara, a renowned Buddhist monk and scholar who lived in Sri Lanka during the 5th century CE. His influential teachings and writings on the practice of metta meditation played a pivotal role in the propagation of Buddhist philosophy across the Indian subcontinent.
Another prominent figure was Metta Thera, a revered Burmese Buddhist monk and meditation master who lived in the 19th century. His teachings on the transformative power of metta resonated deeply with his students, and his legacy continues to inspire practitioners of loving-kindness meditation to this day.
In more recent times, Metta World Peace, formerly known as Ron Artest, a professional basketball player born in 1979, legally changed his name in 2011 to reflect his commitment to promoting peace and understanding. This bold move garnered widespread attention and sparked discussions about the power of names in shaping personal identities and values.
Metta Sandiford-Artest, born in 2003, is the daughter of Metta World Peace and carries on the legacy of the name. Her unique moniker serves as a reminder of the importance of cultivating compassion and benevolence, even in the face of adversity.
Another notable figure is Metta Zetterberg, a Swedish artist and activist born in 1945, whose work often explores themes of social justice, peace, and the interconnectedness of all life. Her art and activism have been greatly influenced by the Buddhist concept of metta, reflecting her commitment to fostering harmony and understanding among diverse communities.
The name Metta, with its profound roots in Buddhist teachings and its emphasis on cultivating love and compassion, has transcended cultural and geographical boundaries. It serves as a powerful reminder of the enduring human values of kindness, empathy, and the interconnectedness of all life.
People
Metta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Metta 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
Metta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Metta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 256 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Metta 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 1,338,884 US residents.
Is Metta a common name?
We classify Metta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,123 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Metta most popular?
The single biggest year for Metta was 1924, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Metta is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Metta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 498 people with the name Metta, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,655 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 Metta 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 Metta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Metta leans strongly female. 479 people counted with this name were female (96.0%), compared with 20 male bearers (4.0%). 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 Metta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Metta is White at 68.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (17.3%) and Black (6.8%). 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 Metta most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Metta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.7% (342 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 Metta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Metta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Metta 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 Metta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Metta 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 Metta 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 called Metta?
You can see how many Americans are named Metta on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.