Margaret

{{Short description|Female given name}}

{{Other uses}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}

{{Infobox given name

| name = Margaret

| image = St. Margaret of Antioch.jpg

| caption = Margaret the Virgin is one of many saints named Margaret

| pronunciation = {{IPAc-en|lang|ˈ|m|ɑːr|ɡ|ər|ə|t}}

| gender = Female

| meaning = Pearl

| region =

| languageorigin = Latin, Greek and Iranian

| name day = 23 May or 25 January

| related names = Daisy, Gretchen, Gretel, Grethe, Greta, Maggie, Máiréad, Madge, Marguerite, Margarita, Margareta, Margaretta, Margarida, Margarete, Marge, Margherita, Margo, Margot, Margie, Margit, Margrit, Megan, Mette, Maisie, Małgorzata, Rita, Peggy

| popularity =

| articles =

| footnotes =

}}

Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Old Iranian. It has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular throughout the Middle Ages. It became less popular between the 16th and 18th century, but became more common again after this period, becoming the second-most popular female name in the United States in 1903. Since this time, it has become less common, but was still the ninth-most common name for women of all ages in the United States as of the 1990 census.

Margaret has many diminutive forms in many languages, including Daisy, Greta, Gretchen, Maggie, Madge, Maisie, Marge, Margie, Margo, Margot, Marnie, Meg, Megan, Molly, Peggy, and Rita.{{cite web|author=Cecil Adams |url=http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/764/why-is-peggy-the-nickname-for-margaret |title=Why is Peggy the nickname for Margaret? |publisher=The Straight Dope |date=8 January 1993 |access-date=13 August 2012}}{{cite web

| url= https://omaha.com/life-entertainment/local/cleveland-evans-molly-peaked-with-millennials/article_cfad70c0-57ff-11ee-804a-4372c086e0f4.html

| title= Cleveland Evans: Molly peaked with millennials

| last= Evans

| first= Cleveland Kent

| date= 24 September 2023

| website= omaha.com

| publisher= Omaha World Herald

| access-date= 20 January 2024

| quote = }}

Etymology

Margaret is derived via French ({{lang|fr|Marguerite}}) and Latin ({{lang|la|Margarita}}) from {{langx|grc|μαργαρίτης}} ({{transliteration|grc|margarítēs}}), via Persian murwārīd, meaning "pearl".{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Margaret|volume=17|page=700}}George F. Kunz and Charles H. Stevenson, The Book of the Pearl: The History, Art, Science and Industry of the Queen of Gems (London and New York: MacMillan & Co., 1908), p. 305.{{cite encyclopedia |title=Persian Loanwords and Names in Greek |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/greece-xii |access-date=2022-03-31 |last=Schmitt |first=Rüdiger}} Margarita (given name) traces the etymology further as مروارید, morvārīd in modern Persian, derived from Sogdian marγārt, both meaning 'pearl'. It is ultimately traces its roots to Old Iranian -mr‌gāhrīta*, "derived from a shell".Ilya Gershevitch, “Margarites, the Pearl,” Études irano-aryennes offertes à Gilbert Lazard, Studia Iranica 7, Paris, 1989, pp. 113-36.

Name variants

=Full name=

  • {{lang|gd|Mairead|italic=no}} (Scottish)
  • {{lang|gd|Maighread|italic=no}} (Scottish)
  • {{lang|mi|Máiréad/Mairéad|italic=no}} (Irish){{Cite web |title=MÁIRÉAD, MAIRÉAD - Irish Names and Surnames |url=https://www.libraryireland.com/names/women/mairead.php |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=www.libraryireland.com}}
  • {{lang|mi|Máighréad/Maighréad|italic=no}} (Irish){{Cite web |title=MAIGHRÉAD - Irish Names and Surnames |url=https://www.libraryireland.com/names/women/maighread-margaret.php |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=www.libraryireland.com}}
  • {{lang|mi|Máirghréad/Mairghréad|italic=no}} (Irish){{Cite web |title=MÁIRGHRÉAD, MAIRGHRÉAD - Irish Names and Surnames |url=https://www.libraryireland.com/names/women/mairghread-margaret.php |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=www.libraryireland.com}}
  • {{lang|mi|Margaretha|italic=no}} (Dutch), (German), (Indonesian), (Swedish)
  • Małgorzata (Polish)
  • Margaryta (Ukrainian)
  • {{lang|mi|Margriet|italic=no}} (Dutch)
  • Margrit
  • Margit (Hungarian)
  • Margrith (German)
  • {{lang|mi|Marjorie|italic=no}} (English)
  • Morvarid مروارید (Persian)

=Diminutives=

  • {{lang|mi|Mae|italic=no}} (English)
  • {{lang|mi|Maggie|italic=no}} (English)
  • {{lang|mi|Maisie|italic=no}} (Scottish)
  • {{lang|mi|Meta|italic=no}} (German)

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=Second half=

Nobility

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Arts, actresses, writers and music

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Education, science, and technology

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Politics and activists

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Sports

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Fictional characters

See also

References

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