Names That Mean Pearl

Farida is a Muslim name more distinctive than the Americanized Farah/Farrah.

An unusual and straightforward name with an attractive Scandinavian accent; a royal name in Norway.

Maelyn practically doubled in use in 2019 after singer Maelyn Jarmon won that year's season of The Voice. It dropped a little the following year.

Gretel originated as a nickname for Margarete, the German form of Margaret. It’s a charming name, but most American parents prefer Greta, as Gretel is strongly tied to the fairy tale heroine.

Everyone is loving Lu- names nowadays, so why not add this sweet East African one to your list?

An old royal name in England and Scotland that's also spelled Marjorie. Popular in the Middle Ages and Tudor period, it was revived at the end of the 19th century, peaked in 1921 and dropped off the list in 1958, enough time to be reconsidered as a Margaret alternative. The name Margery Daw is familiar via the seesaw nursery rhyme and Margery Williams wrote the children's classic The Velveteen Rabbit..

This is a Scandinavian variant of Margaret, and is pronounced MEH-teh or MET, rhyming with jet.

Megan was one of the first trendy names to spawn lots of spelling variations: This is one of the most tenacious and confusing. But with the ascendance of British Prince Harry's fiancee Meghan Markle, Meghan with an h (after the g and before the a) may soon become more familiar and more popular.

Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza is popularizing this one.

A super diminutive nickname name, and sometime Madonna nickname – it was how the British tabloids referred to her when she moved to London in the 1990s, which she found annoying until then husband Guy Ritchie said it stood for 'Your Majesty'. Madge Undersee is Katniss's best friend in The Hunger Games books.

A punchy alternative to Pearl as it gains popularity.

Meret is an interesting name found in several cultures. In Egyptian mythology, she was a goddess associated with singing, dancing and rejoicing and her meaning is 'beloved.' But the name also has significance in Hebrew, Danish and Norwegian. Close relatives include Merete and Maret.

A jewel-encrusted choice, far more unusual than Pearl.

Diminutive of Mairead, the Irish form of Margaret.

Rare and rhythmic.

This unusual variation of Margaret is the real first name of actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. It can make a distinctive way to honor an ancestral Margaret or a different long form for such nicknames as Maggie, Meg, or Margo.

Margalo could make an intriguing spin on Margaret, with Margo as a nickname. The name appears in E. B. White's Stuart Little — as a bird. Margalo Gilmore (born Margaret) was a well-known British-born Broadway actress.

While we would think of Pearlie as a girlish pet form of Pearl today, it was a unisex name in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Among males, it was disproportionately used among African Americans.

A unique international short form of Margaret.

Perlie, along with Pearlie and Purlie, was one of the 21 names identified by Lisa D. Cook and colleagues in their landmark study on distinctively Black names from history.