2000
#123,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Mettetal
A surname derived from the French word "métal," possibly referring to a metalworker or someone associated with metals.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Mettetal. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mettetal surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Mettetal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mettetal, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.3%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mettetal
The surname Mettetal is believed to have originated in the Franconian region of Germany in the 13th century. It derives from the Middle High German words "mette" meaning "meeting" and "tal" meaning "valley," suggesting the name may have referred to someone who lived in a valley where people gathered or met.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the town records of Nürnberg, Germany, where a certain Hermann Mettetal is mentioned in 1287. The spelling at the time was "Mettethal." This variation in spelling was common in those times as standardized spellings were not yet established.
In the 14th century, the name made its way to the neighboring regions of Switzerland and France, where it took on the spellings "Mettetal" and "Mettetalle." A notable bearer of the name from this period was Jean Mettetal, a Swiss merchant and tradesman who lived in Geneva between 1358 and 1412.
The Mettetal name can also be found in the historical records of the Duchy of Lorraine, a region that straddled the present-day border between France and Germany. In the 16th century, a Jacques Mettetal is recorded as a landowner in the village of Blâmont, Lorraine.
As the name spread across Europe, it took on various spelling variations, such as "Mettal," "Mettel," and "Mettall." One prominent bearer was Johann Mettetal, a German composer and organist who lived in the city of Nuremberg from 1612 to 1670.
Another notable figure was Pierre Mettetal, a French soldier and officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. Born in 1785 in Alsace, he rose through the ranks and was awarded the Legion of Honor for his bravery in the Battle of Leipzig in 1813.
The name continued to be found throughout the German-speaking regions of Europe, with examples such as Karl Mettetal, a Prussian architect who designed several public buildings in Berlin in the late 19th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mettetal
Among Census respondents with the surname Mettetal, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.3%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Mettetal bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Mettetal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.8% · 103
- Two or more races6.3% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mettetal
Mettetal appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-16 bearers (-12.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 22,887 places
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
-2 bearers (-1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 2,464 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #123,314 | 129 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | -16 bearers (-12.4%) | Down 22,887 places |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | -2 bearers (-1.8%) | Down 2,464 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Mettetal surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #146,201 | #148,665 | -1.7% |
| Count | 113 | 111 | -1.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mettetal bearers went from 113 to 111 (-1.8% change). The surname moved down 2,464 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #148,665.
FAQ
Mettetal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mettetal?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Mettetal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Mettetal?
Mettetal ranks #148,665 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 111 people with the surname Mettetal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Mettetal.
Has Mettetal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mettetal went from 113 recorded bearers to 111. That is a decrease of 2 (-1.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Mettetal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mettetal, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.3%) and Hispanic (0.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mettetal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mettetal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.8%), Two or More Races (6.3%), Hispanic (0.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Mettetal (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Mettetal mean?
A surname derived from the French word "métal," possibly referring to a metalworker or someone associated with metals. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Mettetal (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Mettetal?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.