Margaret (name)
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:
- Annegret (German; short form of Johanna Margareta)
- Bitxi Basque
- Bitxilore Basque
- Gita (Czech)
- Gitka (Czech)
- Gituska (Czech)
- Gosia (Polish)
- Gośka (Polish)
- Greet (Dutch)
- Greetje (Dutch)
- Greta (English), (German), (Swedish)
- Gretchen (English), (German)
- Grete (Danish), (German)
- Gretel (German)
- Grethe (Danish), (German)
- Gretl (German)
- Gretta (English)
- Griet (Dutch)
- Grieta (Latvian)
- Jorie (English)
- Maarit (Finnish)
- Madge (English)
- Magali (Provencal)
- Maggie Sesubia/Chikuhane
- Mággá Sami
- Maggan (Swedish)
- Maggie (English)
- Mágredá Sami
- Magredá Sami
- Mags (English)
- Maighread (Scottish)
- Mairéad (Irish)
- Mairead (Scottish)
- Maisie (Scots)
- Makelesi (Tongan)
- Makkak Greenlandic
- ملغلره (Malghaləra) (Pashto)
- Małgorzata (Polish)
- Małgorzatka (Polish)
- Małgosia (Polish)
- Małgośka (Polish)
- Mamie (English)
- Manci (Hungarian)
- Mared (Welsh)
- Maret (Estonian)
- Máret Sami
- Marga (Estonian), (Catalan)
- Margalida (Catalan)
- Margaid (Manx)
- מרגלית Margalit (Hebrew)
- Margaréta (Hungarian), (Slovak)
- Margareta (Danish), (Dutch), (German), (Norwegian), (Romanian), (Slovene), (Swedish)
- Margarete (Estonian), (German)
- Margaretha (Dutch), German
- Margarethe (Danish), (German)
- Margaretta (English)
- Margarid (Armenian)
- Margarida (Galician), (Portuguese), (Catalan)
- Margarita (Bulgarian), (Greek), (Lithuanian), (Russian), (Spanish), (Ukrainian)
- Margaritis (Greek)
- Margaro (Greek)
- Margaux (French)
- Marge (English)
- Márge Sami
- Marged (Welsh)
- Margery (English)
- Márgget Sami
- Margherita (Italian)
- Margie (English)
- Margit Danish, (Hungarian), (Norwegian), (Swedish)
- Margita (Hungarian), (Polish) (Slovakian)
- Margo (English), (Greek), (Hungarian), (Ukrainian)
- Margot (English), (French), (German)
- Márgrehtá Sami
- Márgreittá Sami
- Margrét (Icelandic)
- Margret (German)
- Margrethe (Danish), (Norwegian)
- Margriet (Dutch)
- Margrit (German)
- Márgu Sami
- Marguerite (French)
- Margy (English)
- Marharyta Belarusian
- Marit (Norwegian), (Swedish)
- Marita (Finnish), (Greek)
- Maritta (Finnish), (Greek)
- Marja (Finnish)
- Marjatta (Finnish)
- Marjeta (Slovene), (Greek)
- Marjorie (English)
- Marjory (English), (Greek)
- Markéta (Czech)
- Marketta (Finnish)
- Markit (Czech)
- Marsaili (Scottish)
- Mayme (English)
- Meagan (English)
- Meaghan (English)
- Meg (English)
- Megan (English), (Welsh)
- Meghan (English)
- Mererid (Welsh)
- Meret Sami
- Merete (Danish)
- Merit (Swedish)
- Meta (Danish), (German), (Norwegian), (Swedish)
- Mette (Danish), (Norwegian)
- Midge (English)
- Markétka (Czech)
- Mysie (Scots)
- Paaie (Manx)
- Peg (English)
- Pegeen (English), (Irish)
- Peggie (English)
- Peggy (English), (Greek)
- Peigi (Scottish)
- Penina (Hebrew)
- Perele (Yiddish)
- Perle (Yiddish)
- Reeta (Finnish)
- Reetta (Finnish)
- Rita (English), (Greek), (German), (Hungarian), (Italian), (Portuguese), (Russian), (Spanish), (Ukrainian)
- Tita (Spanish)
Name Margaret in other languages
- Czech - Markéta
- Danish - Margrethe
- Finnish - Margareeta, Maarit
- French - Marguerite, Margot, Margaux
- Scottish Gaelic - Mairead
- Irish - Mairéad
- German, Dutch - Margarete or Margareta
- Greek - Μαργαρίτα (Margarita)
- Hungarian - Margit or Margaréta
- Icelandic - Margrét
- Italian - Margherita
- Kazakh - Meruwert
- Polish - Małgorzata
- Portuguese - Margarida
- Romanian - Margareta
- Russian - Маргарита or Рита
- Spanish - Margarita
- Sanskrit - Mandjari
- Swedish - Margareta, Margit, Greta, Rita
- Ukrainian - Маргарита, Марго, Рита
Nicknames of Margaret
- Maggie
- Mar
- Marg
- Marge
- Margie
- Meg
- Meggy
- Peg
- Peggy
- Pegeen
- Pog
- Maisie
- Mamie
- Margo
- Madge
- Molly
- Malla
- Midge
- Marga
- Daisy
- Pearl
- Mags
People called Margaret
This is a list of notable people with the first name Margaret:
Artists and authors
- Margaret Atwood, Canadian novelist and poet
- Margaret Avison, Canadian poet
- Margaret Bourke-White, American photojournalist
- Margaret Clark (born 1943), Australian author
- Margaret Clarkson, English artist
- Margaret Deland, American author
- Margaret Drabble, English author
- Margaret Forster, British author
- Margaret Fuller, American critic
- Margaret Hillis, American conductor
- Margaret Larkin (1899–1967), American writer
- Margaret Laurence, Canadian novelist
- Margaret Leighton, English actress
- Margaret 'Megan' Lindholm, American author of High Fantasy, also known as Robin Hobb
- Margaret Lockwood (1916–1990), British actress
- Margaret Mitchell, American author
- Margaret Oliphant, Scottish author
- Margaret Peterson Haddix, American writer
- Margaret Rutherford, British actress of the stage and screen
- Margaret Travolta, American actress
- Margaret Walker, American author
- Margaret Wise Brown, American author
Educators and scholars
- Margaret Burbidge, British astronomer
- Margaret Angela Haley, American educator, promoted teachers unions
- Margaret Mead, American anthropologist
- Margaret Warner Morley, American biologist, wrote children's books on biology
- Margaret Floy Washburn, American psychologist
Other
- Margaret Berger, Norwegian singer-songwriter
- Margaret Brent, British colonial landowner, called the first American feminist
- Margaret Celine Buckens, British actress
- Margaret Cho, American Comedian & Actress
- Margaret Cochran Corbin, fought the Revolutionary War, was given a pension by Congress[citation needed]
- Margaret Court, Australian tennis player
- Margaret Groos, American long-distance runner
- Margaret Hoelzer, American swimmer
- Margaret "Maggie" Irwin, Irish fur milliner
- Margaret E. Kuhn, founder of the Gray Panthers
- Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, American philanthropist who established the Russell Sage Foundation
- Margaret Sanger, founder of the birth control movement in the United States
- Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990
- Margaret "Maggie" Simpson, youngest member of TV show The Simpsons
- Margaret Haughery, philanthropist known as "the mother of the orphans"
- Margaret Houlihan, character in both the movie and television show M*A*S*H
- Margaret "Meg" March, character in Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women
- Margarethe Cammermeyer
- Maggie Stone or Mary Margaret Stone, character on the American soap opera All My Children
- Margaret White is the extremely religious mother of Carrie White. They are characters in the novel Carrie by Stephen King, the film Carrie (1976) directed by Brian DePalma, and in the film remake Carrie (2002).
- Judith Margaret Myers is a character in Halloween (1978) which was directed by John Carpenter. However, the characters middle name was mentioned in the 1979 novelization based on the film.
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
- Margaret of Anjou, (1430–1482)
- Margaret Tudor, (1489–1541), Elder sister of Henry VIII of England, and great-grandmother of James I of England
- Margaret Beaufort, (1443–1509)
- Margaret Douglas, (1515–1578)
- Princess Margaret of Connaught, (1882–1920)
- Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (1930–2002)
France
- Margaret of Provence, (1221–1285)
- Margaret of France, (1254–1271)
- Marguerite bâtarde de France, (1407–1458)
- Margaret of Angoulême, (1492–1549)
- Margaret of Valois, (1553–1615)
Austria
- Margaret Maultasch, (1318–1369)
Hungary
- Margaret of Hungary, (1175–1223), wife of Isaac II Angelos Byzantine Emperor
Italy
- Margherita of Savoy (1851–1926)
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
- Saint Margaret of Scotland, (1045–1093)
- Margaret Tudor, (1489–1541)
Sweden
- Margareta (1388–1412)
- Princess Margaretha, Mrs. Ambler, (born 1934)
Religious figures
Four women named Margaret have been beatified. These are:
- Margaret of Castello
- Margaret of Citta-di-Castello
- Margaret Pole
- Margaret Ward
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:
- Saint Margaret of England
- Saint Margaret the Widow
- Margaret the Barefooted
- Margaret the Shoestealer
Places
- Margherita Peak in East Africa, which is named for Queen Margherita of Italy
Characters in fiction writing
- Shakespeare
- Margaret of Anjou in Henry VI, part 1, Henry VI, part 2, Henry VI, part 3 and Richard III
- Margaret in Much Ado About Nothing
- Mistress Margaret Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor
- Elizabeth Gaskell
- Margaret Hale (in North and South 1855)
- Goethe
- Margarete (or Gretchen) in Faust: The First Part of the Tragedy
- Alexandre Dumas, fils
- Marguerite Gautier in The Lady of the Camellias
- Alexandre Dumas, père
- Marguerite de Valois in Queen Margot
- Brothers Grimm
- Gretel in Hansel and Gretel
- Bulgakov
- Margarita (Russian: Маргарита), one of the main characters in Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel The Master and Margarita
- Other
- Margaret Mildred "Kit" Kittredge, character in the Kit Kittredge series of American Girl books and related toys
References
- ↑ "View Name: Margaret". Behind the Name. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ↑ 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)