Mette

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Girl · Greek, through Danish

Mette

Say it: MET-teh

Try it with your surname

Meaning

A Danish pet form of Margrethe (Margaret), from Greek margarites 'pearl'.

Certainscholars agree on this meaning.

A traditional Danish pet form that was among Denmark's most common girls' names in the later 20th century.

Its wave through time

Rare in the records

In the United States

68 babies given this name since 1959
At its height in 2010, about 1 in 253,700 girls
Fewer than 5 babies a year in 2020

Through the ages

Used by

Danish Norwegian

The family of the name

Swedish	Margareta
English	Margaret

Famous bearers

Mette-Marit, crown princess of Norway
Mette Frederiksen, Danish prime minister

Names worth a look

PetronillaGirlFrom the Roman family name Petronius, of uncertain meaning; legend made Saint Petronilla a daughter of Saint Peter,…Rome · forgotten

BirgittaGirlThe Swedish form of Irish Brigid, from a Celtic word meaning 'exalted, high one'.Middle Ages

AgneteGirlThe Danish form of Agnes, from Greek hagnē 'pure, holy' (later associated with Latin agnus 'lamb').Middle Ages

IngeborgGirlFrom the god-name Ing and Old Norse björg 'help, protection'.Middle Ages

IngerGirlA Danish and Norwegian contraction of Ingegerd: the god-name Ing and Old Norse garðr 'enclosure, protection'.Middle Ages · peak 1966 · forgotten

KarinGirlA Swedish short form of Katarina (Catherine). The root is unknown; the popular meaning 'pure' comes from a later…Middle Ages · peak 1969

MatthewBoyHebrew Mattityahu, 'gift of YHWH', through Greek Matthaios.Biblical · peak 1983

MadisonGirlFrom an English surname meaning 'son of Madde', a medieval pet form of Maud (Matilda) or possibly of Matthew.…Modern · peak 2001

Where this comes from

Parish baptism registers
National birth statistics of European countries source
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.