Margaret
Top 1000
About Margaret
Margaret is derived from the French Marguerite, which in turn came from Margarita, the Latin form of the Greek Margarites. Margarites was based on the Old Persian word margārīta, meaning "pearl."
Margaret has been one of the most Christian and royal of female names—attached to the patron saint of women in childbirth and to various queens and princesses in England, Scandinavia, Austria, and the Netherlands, and to the first female prime minister of Great Britain, Margaret Thatcher.
Margaret is a rich, classic name used for queens and saints. Margaret was replaced for decades by less starchy forms like Maggie and Meg, but some stylish parents are reviving Margaret in full, attracted by its strong sound and classic status, as an alternative to Elizabeth or Katherine.
Margaret is also an important family name for many people, having ranked near the top through the first half of the 1900s. An extremely well used name since medieval times, Margaret is still considered the Scottish national name.
If you're honoring an ancestral Margaret, there are many fresh and new alternatives, from the French Marguerite—very stylish in Paris—to the diminutive Margo (or Margot). In French, Marguerite is another word for daisy, making Daisy another appropriate Margaret short form or honorific, as is Maisie. Other offspring of Margaret include Madge, Marjorie/Margery, Megan, Molly, Polly, Peggy, Greta, and Rita.
Pronounced MAR-guh-ret.
As of October 2026, Margaret ranked #112 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #3 in 1906, Nameberry popularity #103.
Editor: Pamela Redmond
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #169 | 1,951 | 1,092.2 |
| 2015 | #155 | 2,110 | 1,182 |
| 2016 | #139 | 2,216 | 1,250.5 |
| 2017 | #132 | 2,255 | 1,306.1 |
| 2018 | #127 | 2,334 | 1,372.1 |
| 2019 | #127 | 2,214 | 1,319.1 |
| 2020 | #126 | 2,195 | 1,357.8 |
| 2021 | #125 | 2,242 | 1,366.4 |
| 2022 | #127 | 2,197 | 1,339.5 |
| 2023 | #132 | 2,083 | 1,298.2 |
| 2024 | #119 | 2,303 | 1,421.4 |
| 2025 | #112 | 2,436 | 1,515.6 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Margaret.
- Jane
- Louise
- Louisa
- Josephine
- Ruth
- Caroline
- Helen
- Anne
- Beatrice
- Catherine
- Mary
- Elizabeth
- Frances
- Susannah
- Harriet
- Eliza
- Dorothy
- Esther
- Virginia
- Georgia
Margaret on lists
Famous Margarets
- Margaret Constance "Maisie" Williams
English actress
- Saint Margaret
Antiochene Virgin,Martyr
- Saint Margaret of Wessex
"The Pearl of Scotland"
- Margaret
Maid of Norway, Queen of Scots
- Margaret I
Queen of Denmark
- Margaret of England
Queen consort of Alexander III of Scots
- Margaret of Denmark
Queen consort of James III of Scots
- Margaret Tudor
Queen consort of James IV of Scots
- Margaret of Anjou
Queen consort of Henry VI of England
- Margaret of Valois
Queen consort of Henry IV of France
- Margaret of Burgundy
Queen consort of Louis X and I of France and Navarre
- Margaret of Provence
Queen consort of Louis IX of France
- Margaret Leijonhufvud
Queen consort of Gustav I of Sweden
- Margaret of Austria
Queen consort of Philip III and II of Spain and Portugal
- Margaret Hilda Thatcher
British Prime Minister
- Margaret Rose
Princess of the U.K., Countess of Snowdon; sister of Queen Elizabeth II
- Margaret Victoria Charlotte Augusta Norah of Connaught
Crown Princess of the future King Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden
- Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell
American novelist
- Margaret Eleanor Atwood
Canadian novelist and poet
- Margaret Higgins Sanger
American birth control activist
- Margaret Moran Cho
American comedienne
- Margaret Peterson Haddix
American novelist
- Margaret Mead
American anthropologist
- Margaret Travolta
American actress; sister of John Travolta
- Margaret Wise Brown
American children's author
- Margaret Bourke
White, American photographer
- Margaret Juliet "Marlo" Thomas
American actress
- Margaret Grace Denig
birth name of Maggie Grace, American actress
- Margaret Denise Quigley
birth name of Maggie Q, American actress
- Margaret Court
Australian tennis player
- (Sarah) Margaret Fuller
American feminist; transcendentalist writer and critic
- Margaret Cassidy "Maggie" Lawson
American actress
- Margaret Natalie "Maggie" Smith
English actress
- Margaret Warner Morley
American biologist and author
- Margaret Floy Washburn
American psychologist
- Margaret Gorman
first Miss America (1921)
- Margaret Grace Bondfield
British feminist and Minister of Labour
- Margaret Drabble
Lady Holroyd, English novelist
- Margaret Stohl
American novelist
- Margaret Edith Weis
American novelist
- Margaret Beaufort
mother to King Henry VII of England
- (Mary) Margaret Truman Daniel
American singer and author, daughter of U.S. President Harry Truman
- Margaret Lucas Cavendish
Duchess of Newcastle,upon,Tyne, English author and scientist
- Margaret Mary Theodora Macdonald
daughter of 1st Canadian Prime Minister John Macdonald
- Sarah Margaret Qualley
American model and actress
- Margaret D. H. Keane (born Peggy Doris Hawkins)
American painter, creator of the "big,eyed waifs" and subject of the Tim Burton film "Big Eyes"
- Margaret Glaspy
American singer,songwriter
- Margaret Heather "Maggie" Christian (b. 2006)
daughter of American actress Kellie Martin
- Margaret Laura "Mila" Hager (b. 2013)
daughter of Jenna Bush Hager
- Margaret Anne "Aurie" Jackson (b.2018)
daughter of Matthew John Jackson
- Margaret Hamilton
American computer scientist
- Meg Ryan (born Margaret Mary Emily Hyra)
American actress
- Margaret "Marni" Nixon (born Margaret Nixon McEathron)
American soprano and ghost singer
- Margaret Vivian Benedict
(b. 2024), daughter of actors Rob Benedict and Ruth Connell
Margaret in pop culture
- Margaret and Bessatsu Margaret
Japanese shojo manga magazines
- Margaret "Boots"
character in Gregor The Overlander
- Margaret "Mae" Borowski
main character in "Night in The Woods"
- Margaret Brackenreid
Inspector Thomas Brackenreid's wife on CBC's "Murdoch Mysteries"
- Margaret "Daisy" Brooke
character in "Little Women"
- Margaret "Peggy" Wanker Bundy
character on TV's "Married with Children"
- Margaret "Peggy" Carter
character in Marvel Universe
- Margaret Dashwood
character in "Sense and Sensibility" by Jane Austen
- Margaret de Villeroy
character in G. A. Henty's "At Agincourt"
- Margaret "Maggie" Duval
a character on MTV's "Scream", also Emma Duval's mother
- Margaret of Evesham
character in G. A. Henty's, "Winning His Spurs"
- Margaret
Baroness Falconbridge, character in "This Golden Land" by Barbara Wood
- Margaret Hale
character in Elizabeth Gaskell's "North and South"
- Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan
character on TV's "M*A*S*H"
- Margaret Humphreys
character in film "Oranges and Sunshine"
- Margaret Mildred "Kit" Kittredge
American Girl doll character
- Margaret "Maggie" Lang
character in Marvel Universe
- Margaret "Meg" March
character in Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women"
- Margaret "Meg" Masters
demon on TV's "Supernatural"
- Margaret "Meg" McCaffrey
character in the "Trials of Apollo" book series
- Margaret "Meg" Murry
main character in "A Wrinkle in Time"
- Margaret "Maggie" Pierce
character on TV's "Grey's Anatomy"
- Margaret "Meg" Pryor
main character on TV's "American Dreams"
- Margaret Ellen "Maggie" Sawyer
character in DC Universe
- Margaret Schlegel
character in E.M. Forster's "Howards End"
- Margaret Katherine "Maggie" Seaver
character on TV's "Growing Pains"
- Margaret "Maggie" Sheffield
eldest daughter on TV's "The Nanny"
- Margaret Simon
main character in "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" by Judy Blume
- Margaret Evelyn "Maggie" Simpson
baby on TV's "The Simpsons"
- Margaret Tate
character in film "The Proposal"
- Margaret Wade
character in comic strip "Dennis the Menace"
- Margaret "Meg" Chalmers
main character in Lois Lowry's "A Summer to Die"
- "Proud Lady Margaret"
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"
- "Fair Margaret and Sweet William"
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"
- "Lord Thomas and Lady Margaret"
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"
Variations & nicknames
- MargueriteFrench
- MargaritaSpanish
More nicknames
- Metty
- Retty