Margaret

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 1900's. An extremely well used name since medieval times, Margaret is still considered the Scottish national name.

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.

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, Megan, Molly, Polly, Peggy and Rita.