Margaret (name)

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Margaret

Margaret the Virgin is one of many saints named Margaret.
Gender female
Origin
Word/Name Greek or Persian
Meaning Pearl
Other names
Related names Maggie, Mags, Madge, Marge, Margie, Meg, Megan, Meggie, Greta, and Peggy.
Look up Margaret in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Margaret is a female first name, derived from the Greek word margarites (μαργαρίτης) meaning "pearl."

It may be related to the Sanskrit word मञ्यरी mañjarī.[1] Alternately, it might be of Persian origin, derived from the Persian language marvârid (مروارید), a pearl or daughter of light. The word is related to Marg from Marq or Marka meaning "chicken" (مرغ), probably because pearls looked like small bird eggs.[citation needed]

Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular throughout the Middle Ages. It became less popular between the 16th century and 18th century, but became more common again after this period, becoming the second most popular name in the United States in 1903. Since this time, it has become less common, but is still the ninth most common name for women of all ages in the United States as of the 1990 census.

It has a large number of diminutive forms in many different languages, including Maggie, Madge, Mags, Maisie, Marge, Meg, Megan, Mog, Moggie, Rita, Daisy, Greta, Gretel, Gretchen, Magee, Marg, Margot, May, Molly, Peggy and Peg.[2]

Variant forms

Alternate forms of Margaret, including short forms and pet names, include:

Name Margaret in other languages

Nicknames of Margaret

People called Margaret

This is a list of notable people with the first name Margaret:

Artists and authors

Educators and scholars

Other

Other notable uses of this name

Royal figures

Belgium and the Netherlands (the Low Countries)

  • Margaret of York, (1446–1503), Duchess of Burgundy and wife of Philip the Bold, Regent of France
  • Margaret(e) of Austria, (1480–1530)
  • Margaret of Parma, (1522–1586)

Denmark

  • Margaret I, (1353–1412)
  • Margrethe II (born 1940):

England

France

Austria

  • Margaret Maultasch, (1318–1369)

Hungary

Italy

Norway

  • Margaret of Scotland (Maid of Norway) (1282–1290)
  • Margrete (1380–1412)

Portugal

  • Margarida of Savoy, Vicereine of Portugal (1589–1655)

Romania

  • Princess Margarita of Romania (born 1949):

Scotland

Sweden

Religious figures

Four women named Margaret have been beatified. These are:

Several Saints Margaret exist:

  • Saint Margaret the Virgin - the oldest and much the most prominent; also known as Margaret of Antioch
  • Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (see Marie Alacoque)
  • Saint Margaret of Cortona
  • Saint Margaret of Scotland
  • Saint Margaret of Hungary (1242–1270)
  • Margaret of Clitherow

and also a number of other saintly Margarets:

Places

  • Margherita Peak in East Africa, which is named for Queen Margherita of Italy

Characters in fiction writing

Shakespeare
Elizabeth Gaskell
  • Margaret Hale (in North and South 1855)
Goethe
Alexandre Dumas, fils
Alexandre Dumas, père
Brothers Grimm
Bulgakov
Other
  • Margaret Mildred "Kit" Kittredge, character in the Kit Kittredge series of American Girl books and related toys

References

  1. ↑ "View Name: Margaret". Behind the Name. Retrieved 28 November 2012. 
  2. ↑ Cecil Adams (1993-01-08). "Why is Peggy the nickname for Margaret?". The Straight Dope. Retrieved 2012-08-13. 
  • "Margaret". Edgar’s Name Pages. 2001–04. 

See also

  • Margaret (disambiguation)
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