Alison Hansel coined the term. It’s short for “My People” as she felt the little meeples were uber-cute. Local Massachusetts gamers started to use the term Meeple in numerous session reports that appeared on the ‘net, and caught on over time. I’ve even heard Jay Tummelson use the term. (I’m still waiting for an official Rio Grande Games translation that uses the term.) It was said at an SSG session back in November of 2000. So it is written so let it be known…
I’ve seen people refute this and claim that it was used far earlier for some other game… In any event, if the term was used before, it was not known to Alison. In any event, the usage with Carcassonne followers has a very specific origin.
— David Bernazzani quoted in Why are they called “Meeples”? (WHAT UP MASSACHUSETTS!)