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Metta
How to Pronounce Metta
Pronounced MET-uh /ΛmΙtΙ/High
Meaning: Metta is a Scandinavian and Low German pet form of Margaret, through the Danish Mette. Margaret comes from the Greek margarites, 'pearl'. The name travelled to America with Northern European immigrants, so its inherited meaning is 'pearl', carried through the familiar short form rather than the full name.Medium
Popularity in the U.S. Β· SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880βpresent). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Metta is a Northern European short form of Margaret, chiefly through the Danish Mette. Margaret's root is the Greek margarites, 'pearl'. Scandinavian and German families carried Metta to America, where it saw quiet use around the turn of the twentieth century.
It was never common, a couple dozen girls a year at most at its high in the nineteen-twenties, and it had faded by mid-century. A girl given it then would be a great-grandmother now, and it reads as an immigrant-era heirloom name rather than a modern choice.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Metta mean?
It's a Scandinavian and German short form of Margaret, from the Greek for 'pearl'.
How do you pronounce Metta?
It's said MET-uh /ΛmΙtΙ/, two syllables, stress on the first.
Is Metta a boy or girl name?
Metta is used as a girl's name.
Is Metta a popular name?
No, it was always rare, an immigrant-era short form of Margaret seen only slightly in the early twentieth century.