Margaret

Margaret meaning

Margaret is an international and Christian girl's name of Greek origin (via Latin and French).

Pearl; from Greek margaritēs

Margaret comes through Old French and Late Latin Margarita from Greek margaritēs, "a pearl". Strong's lists the Greek word as foreign in origin, and the Online Etymology Dictionary notes the view that it was borrowed from an Iranian language. The New Testament uses it for the "pearl of great price" and the pearly gates of the New Jerusalem. The name spread through St Margaret of Antioch, a popular medieval saint, and St Margaret of Scotland, an eleventh-century queen. It has many pet forms, including Maggie, Meg, Peggy, Daisy, Maisie and Margot. It is said MAAR-gret, and for Indian families it means the same as Moti.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), Greek Dictionary of the New Testament, G3135 · entry margaritēs · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: Strong's G3135, margaritēs (Bible Hub) · Online Etymology Dictionary, Margaret

Famous namesakes

• St Margaret of Scotland, eleventh-century queen
• Margaret Thatcher, British prime minister

Popularity abroad

• #112 United States, girls 2025 (up 7 from 119 in 2024)
  US Social Security Administration
• #413 England and Wales, girls 2025
  Office for National Statistics

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

Spellings

Margaret · Margret

Related names

Also starting with Mar-

More names of Greek origin

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