Margaret
Margaret | |
---|---|
Margaret the Virgin is one of many saints named Margaret. | |
Gender | female |
Name day | May 22 |
Origin | |
Word/name | Greek, Sanskrit, Persian |
Meaning | Pearl |
Other names | |
Related names | Maggie, Mairead, Madge, Marge, Margie, Meg, Megan, Meggie, Greta, and Peggy. |
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Look up Margaret in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Margaret is a female first name, derived via French (Marguerite) and Latin (Margarita) from Greek Margarites, derived from the noun margaron meaning 'pearl'.[1] The Greek is closely related to the Sanskrit मञ्जरी mañjarī meaning 'pearl' or 'cluster of blossoms.'[2][3][4] Alternately, it might be of Persian origin, derived from the Persian language marvârid (مروارید), a pearl or daughter of light.
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, Maisie, Marge, Meg, Megan, Mog, Rita, Daisy, Greta, Gretel, Gretchen, Magee, Marg, Margot, May, Molly, Peggy and Peg.[5]
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)
- Mággá Sami
- Maggan (Swedish)
- Maggie (English)
- Mágredá Sami
- Magredá Sami
- 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), (Albanian)
- Margaritis (Greek)
- Margaro (Greek)
- Margaux (French)
- Marge (English)
- Márge Sami
- Marged (Welsh)
- Margery (English)
- Margey (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), (Albanian)
- Marjorie (English)
- Marjory (English), (Greek)
- Markéta (Czech)
- Marketta (Finnish)
- Markit (Czech)
- Marsaili (Scottish)
- Mayme (English)
- Meagan (English)
- Meaghan (English)
- Meg (English)
- Megi (Albanian)
- 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
- Armenian - Մարգարիտ
- 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
- Marathi - Manjiri
- Polish - Małgorzata
- Portuguese - Margarida
- Romanian - Margareta
- Russian - Маргарита or Рита
- Spanish - Margarita
- Sanskrit - Mañjarī
- Swedish - Margareta, Margit, Greta, Rita
- Ukrainian - Маргарита, Марго, Рита
Nicknames of Margaret
People named Margaret include:
Aristocrats
Austria
- Margaret, Countess of Tyrol (1318–1369)
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 of Austria, Duchess of Savoy (1480–1530), Princess of Asturias and Duchess of Savoy by her two marriages
- Margaret of Parma (1522–1586), illegitimate daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Johanna Maria van der Gheynst
Denmark
- Margaret I of Denmark (1353–1412)
England
- Margaret of Anjou (1430–1482), wife of King Henry VI of England
- Margaret Tudor (1489–1541), elder sister of Henry VIII of England and great-grandmother of James I of England
- Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, (1443–1509), mother of King Henry VII and paternal grandmother of King Henry VIII of England
- Margaret Douglas (1515–1578), daughter of Margaret Tudor
- Princess Margaret of Connaught (1882–1920), elder daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught
- Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (1930–2002), only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II and the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth
France
- Margaret of Provence (1221–1285)
- Margaret of France, Duchess of Brabant (1254–1271)
- Margaret of Angoulême (1492–1549)
- Margaret of Valois (1553–1615)
Hungary
- Margaret of Hungary (1175–1223), wife of Isaac II Angelos Byzantine Emperor
Norway
- Margaret of Scotland (Maid of Norway) (1282–1290)
Scotland
- Saint Margaret of Scotland, (c. 1045–1093), Queen of Scots
- Margaret Tudor (1489–1541)
Religious figures
Sainted
- 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
- Saint Margaret of England
- Margaret the Barefooted
Beatified
- Margaret of Castello
- Margaret Pole
- Margaret Ward
Artists and authors
- Margaret Atwood, Canadian novelist and poet
- Margaret Avison, Canadian poet
- Margaret Berger, Norwegian singer-songwriter
- Margaret Bourke-White, American photojournalist
- Margaret Celine Buckens, British actress
- Margaret Cho, American comedienne and actress
- 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 Ogden (born 1952), American fantasy author best known by the pen name 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
- Maggie Smith (born 1934), British actress
- Margaret Travolta, American actress
- Margaret Walker, American author
- Margaret Wise Brown, American author
Educators and scientists
- 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 Brennan (nun), Canadian nun
- Margaret Brent, British colonial landowner, called the first American feminist
- Margaret Cochran Corbin, fought in the U.S. Revolutionary War and was given a pension by Congress
- Margaret Court, Australian tennis player
- Margaret Groos, American long-distance runner
- Margaret Haughery, philanthropist known as "the mother of the orphans"
- Margaret Hoelzer, American swimmer
- Margaret E. Kuhn, founder of the Gray Panthers
Margaret Rankin AM (McNeall) Founder Haemochromatosis Australia 1989
- 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
Fictional characters
- Margaret in Much Ado About Nothing, by Shakespeare
- Mistress Margaret Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor, by Shakespeare
- Margaret Hale, in the 1855 novel North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
- Margaret "Meg" Murry, in the novel A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
- Margaret Kit Kittredge, in the Kit Kittredge series of American Girl books and related toys
- Margaret "Meg" March, character in Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- Margaret Maggie Simpson, in the TV show The Simpsons
- Margaret Houlihan, character in both the movie and television show M*A*S*H
- Margaret, a Little Britain character
- Margaret, a robin in Regular Show
- Margaret White, in the novel Carrie by Stephen King
- Margaret Peggy Carter, a character featured in several storylines published by Marvel comics
See also
References
- ↑ Hanks, Patrick, Kate Hardcastle, and Flavia Hodges, Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press.
- ↑ "View Name: Margaret". Behind the Name. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ↑ "Margaret". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ↑ "Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary". Universität zu Köln (University of Cologne). Retrieved 24 December 2012.
- ↑ Cecil Adams (8 January 1993). "Why is Peggy the nickname for Margaret?". The Straight Dope. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
- "Margaret". Edgar’s Name Pages. 2001.