Margaret

Greek

"pearl"

Margaret Origin and Meaning

The name Margaret is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "pearl".

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.

Margaret Rank in US Top 1000

# 132 in the US

Margaret Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 100 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Margaret

• 132 US 2023
• 100 Nameberry 2025
• 96 Future 2028
• 493 England 2023

20 Names Similar to Margaret

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Margaret.

• Jane
• Louise
• Louisa
• Josephine
• Ruth
• Helen
• Caroline
• Anne
• Susannah
• Catherine
• Mary
• Beatrice
• Virginia
• Harriet
• Elizabeth
• Frances
• Eliza
• Martha
• Dorothy
• George

Famous People Named Margaret

• 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

The name 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"

International Variations of the name Margaret

• Marguerite French
• Margarita Spanish