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.

# 132 in the US

Margaret Rank in US Top 1000

# 119 on Nameberry

Margaret Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Margaret Popularity

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 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"