Given name & surname · also German

Meta

Meta is used as a given name and a surname. Meta is connected with Margaret.

Original GermanMargarete

Meaning & origin

Where it comes from

This spelling has been associated with German and Latin naming traditions.

How it developed

Meta is used as a form of Margaret.

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.

From dated birth records

Meta through the years

Babies since 1880
6,211
0 boys · 6,211 girls
Most popular year
1892
127 babies
2025
0
Outside the ranked list
2021–25 vs 2016–20
−71%
Cooling
020040060080018801900192019401960198020002025Highest share 18900.0
Meta in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1880–2025, per million girls born. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

By the numbers

The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 10 in 2021. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 127 in 1892. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,800 as a first name in 2020; 457 as a surname in 2020.

From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.

Meta’s family of names

Meta is an affectionate form of Margaret. In German usage, Meta has a related form in Margarete. In Danish usage, Meta has a related form in Margaret.

Walk Meta’s family in the name graph

MetaΜέταΜετάMargaretMargareteMargaretaMettaMetteMattaMethaMettahMetahMaggieNetaMathildנטע

Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Around the world

Meta has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.

DanishGermanGreekLatin

10 related names in 4 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.

Each dot marks where a language is rooted, not where people with the name live today. Bigger dots hold more names. Language locations from Glottolog (CC BY 4.0); map from Natural Earth.

Spellings & scripts 2

The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.

Across languages 4

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

See also 1

Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.

Similar names

If you love Meta, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Old-fashioned

Mellie

“a dark-skinned beauty” · “one who is sweet and gentle”

20RareSteady

>99% girls

Old-fashioned

Mabelle

“one who is lovable”

17Very rareSteady

>99% girls

German · Royal

Maud

“one who is mighty in battle”

0Not recently recorded

>99% girls

Latin · Old-fashioned

Myrtle

“of the sacred evergreen shrub”

14Very rare

>99% girls

Old-fashioned

Bell

“from the sacred wood” · “a handsome friend”

14Very rareRising

>99% girls

African · Old-fashioned

Lulu

“a calm, peaceful woman” · “as precious as a pearl”

32RareSteady

>99% girls

Latin · Old-fashioned

Leta

“one who is glad; joyful; loved by all”

16Very rareCooling

>99% girls

German · Old-fashioned

Minna

“determined protector” · “one who is resolute; having great strength”

26RareEasing

>99% girls

Sibling ideas

Names that share Meta’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Meta

A sister for Meta