The first name Margaret
A girl’s name from Greek meaning “pearl”, “stone”, “pebble of the sea”.
Pronounced /ˈmɑɹɡɹɪt/ 3 syllables Female
Meaning and origin
Greek origin
Margaret means “pearl”, “stone”, “pebble of the sea” in Greek.
From the name of 3rd century Saint Margaret the Virgin, from Middle English Margaret, from Old French Margaret (French Marguerite), from Latin Margarita, from Ancient Greek μαργαρίτης (margarítēs, “pearl”), ultimately from an Indo-Iranian source. The same source, through folk etymology, has produced Old English meregrot (“pearl”, literally “stone or pebble of the sea”), related to Old Saxon merigrita, merigriota (“pearl”), Old High German merigrioz, equivalent to mer- + groat.
More names that mean mountain, sea.
From Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity
Babies registered in England and Wales, 1996–2025
In 2025, 98 girls were named Margaret, making it the 413th most popular girls’ name. It peaked in 2020, with 124 births (#357).
Office for National Statistics; years with fewer than three births are not published and show as zero. Compare Margaret with other names.
Popularity in the United States
Babies named Margaret at birth, 1880–2025
In 2025, 2,436 girls born in the United States were named Margaret, the 112th most popular girls’ name that year. It was used most in 1921, when 28,468 were.
US Social Security Administration, from applications for a Social Security card. A name is only published for a year when at least five babies were given it, so quieter years show as zero.
Margaret in other languages
Equivalent forms of the name, from Wiktionary
Nicknames and spellings
Famous people named Margaret
339 on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Margaret AtwoodCanadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, pépin, born 1939
- Margaret MitchellAmerican author and journalist (1900–1949)
- Margaret MeadAmerican anthropologist (1901-1978)
- Princess Margaret, Countess of SnowdonBritish princess (1930–2002)
- Margaret HamiltonAmerican mathematician and designer of embedded computer systems (1936–2026)
- Margaret SangerAmerican birth control activist and nurse (1879–1966)
- Margaret CourtAustralian tennis player, born 1942
- Margaret QualleyAmerican actress and model (born 1994)
- Margaret FullerAmerican writer and women's activist (1810–1850)
- Margaret RutherfordBritish actress (1892–1972)
- Julia Margaret CameronBritish photographer (1815–1879)
- Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-TyneEnglish aristocrat, prolific writer, and scientist, 1617–1673
More Greek girls’ names
Questions
- What does the name Margaret mean?
- Margaret means “pearl”, “stone”, “pebble of the sea” in Greek.
- What is the origin of the name Margaret?
- From the name of 3rd century Saint Margaret the Virgin, from Middle English Margaret, from Old French Margaret (French Marguerite), from Latin Margarita, from Ancient Greek μαργαρίτης (margarítēs, “pearl”), ultimately from an Indo-Iranian source. The same source, through folk etymology, has…
- How popular is the name Margaret?
- In 2025, 98 girls born in England and Wales were named Margaret, ranking 413th. Its peak was 2020, with 124 births.
- What are nicknames for Margaret?
- Common nicknames for Margaret include Maggie, Megan, Peggy, Gretchen, Maisie, Margie.
- Is Margaret a boy's or a girl's name?
- Mostly a girl's name: 100% of the 1,268,519 US babies named Margaret since 1880 were girls.
- When was Margaret most popular?
- 1921 in the United States, when 28,468 babies were named Margaret, its highest rank at 4th.
- How do you pronounce Margaret?
- Margaret is /ˈmɑɹɡɹɪt/, 3 syllables.
- What are other spellings of Margaret?
- Margery, Margareta and Margret.