Margaret
Gender:	Female
Origin:	Greek
Meaning:	"Pearl"

Margaret is a female first name. The origin of the word "Margaret" is in Greek, from the word margaríta, which means "pearl". The older roots exist in the Persian for pearl, Morvarid; and also Sanskrit word for pearl, mandjari.

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 USA in 1903. Since this time, it has become less common, but is still 13th in the USA.

It has a large number of diminutive forms in many different languages, including Maggie, Madge, Marge, Megan, Rita, Daisy, Greta, Gretchen, and Peggy.

People called Margaret

This is a list of famous 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 Deland: American author
• Margaret Drabble: English author
• Margaret Forster: British author
• Margaret Fuller: American critic
• Margaret Hillis: American conductor
• Margaret Leighton: English actress
• Margaret Lockwood: British actress
• Margaret Mitchell: American author
• Margaret Oliphant Oliphant: Scottish author
• Margaret Rutherford, Dame: British actress of the stage and screen
• Margaret Walker: American author
• Margaret Wise Brown: American author

Educators and Scholars

• Margaret Warner Morley: American biologist. Wrote childrens books on biology.
• Margaret Angela Haley: American educator. Promoted teachers unions.
• Margaret Mead: American anthropologist.
• Margaret E. White: American inventor.
• Margaret Floy Washburn: American psychologist.
• Margaret Burbidge: British astronomer.

Political Figures

• Margaret Grace Bondfield: British union leader and member of the cabinet.
• Margaret Chase Smith: American representative and senator.
• Margaret Thatcher: British Prime Minister.

Other

• Margaret Brent: British colonial landowner. Called the first American feminist.
• Margaret Cochran Corbin: Fought the Revolutionary War. Was given a pension by Congress.
• 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 E. Kuhn: Founder of the Gray Panthers
• Margaret Court: Australian tennis player.

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 (1972-):

England

• Margaret of Anjou, (1430-1482)
• Margaret Beaufort, (1443-1509)
• Margaret Douglas, (1515-1578)
• Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (1930-2002)

France

• Margaret of Provence, (1221-1285)
• Margaret of Angoulême, (1492-1549)

German

• Margaret Maultasch, (1318-1369)

Hungary

• Margaret of Hungary, (1175 - 1223), wife of Isaac II Angelos Byzantine Emperor

Norway

• Margaret of Scotland (Maid of Norway) (1282-1290)
• Margrete (1388-1412)

Romania

• Princess Margarita of Romania (1949-):

Scotland

• Saint Margaret of Scotland, (1045-1093)
• Margaret Tudor, (1489-1541)

Sweden

• Margareta (1388-1412)

Religious Figures

• Four women named Margaret have been blessed. These are:
  • Margaret of Castello
  • Margaret of Citta-di-Castello
  • Margaret Pole
  • Margaret Ward
• Nine women named Margaret are saints:
  • Margaret (saint)
  • Margaret Mary Alacoque
  • Margaret of Antioch
  • Margaret of Clitherow
  • Margaret of Cortona
  • Margaret of England
  • Saint Margaret of Hungary
  • Saint Margaret of Scotland
  • Margaret the Barefooted

Places

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

Shakespearean characters

• Margaret in Henry VI, part 1
• Margaret in Much Ado About Nothing
• Mistress Margaret Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor
• Queen Margaret in Henry VI, part 2, Henry VI, part 3 and Richard III

Name Margaret in other languages

• Czech - Markéta
• Danish - Margrethe
• Finnish - Margareeta, Maarit
• French - Marguerite
• Scottish Gaelic - Mairead
• German, Dutch, Sweden - Margarete or Margareta
• Greek - Margarites
• Hungarian - Margit or Margaréta
• Italian - Margherita
• Polish - Małgorzata
• Portuguese - Margarida
• Romanian - Margareta
• Russian - Маргарита or Рита
• Spanish - Margarita
• Sanskrit - Mandjari

References

• Behind the Name
• Names database
• The Straight Dope: Why is Peggy the nickname for Margaret? (Derivation of diminuitives)

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