Explore the Family Name Metter

The meaning of Metter

1. German: variant of Meth. 2. German: from a personal name based on ancient Germanic mahal ‘gathering place, court’. 3. English (Devon): apparently a variant of Matter. Compare Metters. This form of the name is rare in Britain and Ireland. Some characteristic forenames: German Horst.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Metter in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Metter decreased in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked 42,912 in terms of surnames, but fell to 51,176 by 2010, marking a decline of 19.26%. Similarly, the count of individuals with this surname also dropped, from 475 in 2000 to 407 in 2010, a decrease of 14.32%. The proportion of people with this surname per 100,000 residents declined from 0.18 to 0.14, a change of -22.22%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#42,912	#51,176	-19.26%
Count	475	407	-14.32%
Proportion per 100k	0.18	0.14	-22.22%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Metter

The ethnic identity associated with the Metter surname also saw some changes according to the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, 95.79% identified as white which slightly decreased to 94.10% by 2010. Those identifying as Black increased from 1.05% to 1.72%, marking a significant increase of 63.81%. The data showed no Asian/Pacific Islanders with the Metter surname in 2010, where there had been a small percentage (1.05%) in 2000. The representation of those from two or more ethnicities increased from 1.05% to 1.23%, a rise of 17.14%. Lastly, there was an introduction of Hispanic representation in 2010 at 2.70%, where no representation was recorded in 2000. No data was available for American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	95.79%	94.1%	-1.76%
Hispanic	0%	2.7%	0%
Black	1.05%	1.72%	63.81%
Two or More Races	1.05%	1.23%	17.14%
Asian/Pacific Islander	1.05%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%