Margarine
Derived from the Greek word "margarites" meaning pearl-like or lustrous.
Name Census estimates that about 18 living Americans carry the first name Margarine. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Margarine today is around 83 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Margarine births was 1931 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Margarine. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Margarine is about 83 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Margarines were born before 1953.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Margarine. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
18
~ 1 in 19,041,908 Americans
Peak year
1931
9 babies that year
Average age
83
years old
1952 SSA rank
#4,769
Tracked since 1921
Popularity
Margarine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Margarine from the 1920s through to the 1950s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 30 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Margarine by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Margarine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Margarine
The given name Margarine is derived from the Greek word "margarīnē," which means "pearl." It has its origins in ancient Greece, where pearls were highly prized and associated with beauty, purity, and wealth.
The name's popularity can be traced back to the early Christian era, when it was adopted as a feminine name to honor the Virgin Mary, who was often depicted as the "Pearl of Great Price." It gained widespread use throughout the Byzantine Empire and later spread to Western Europe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Margarine can be found in the writings of the 4th-century Church Father, St. Jerome, who mentioned a woman named Margarine in his letters. In the 6th century, there was a notable Saint Margarine, who was revered for her piety and charitable works in what is now southern France.
Throughout the Middle Ages, Margarine remained a popular name among European nobility and royalty. Notable historical figures with this name include Margarine of Antioch (1109-1183), a prominent crusader and ruler of the Principality of Antioch during the 12th century.
In the Renaissance period, Margarine Valois (1553-1615), the daughter of King Henry II of France, was a influential figure at the French court and a patron of the arts. She was known for her intelligence, beauty, and political acumen.
During the Enlightenment era, Margarine Ardinghelli (1728-1825) was an Italian physicist and mathematician who made significant contributions to the study of electricity and magnetism. She was one of the first women to be elected to the prestigious Bologna Academy of Sciences.
In the 19th century, Margarine Oliphant (1828-1897) was a Scottish novelist and historical writer who published numerous works, including the critically acclaimed "Chronicles of Carlingford" series.
People
Margarine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Margarine as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Margarine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Margarine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 18 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Margarine going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 19,041,908 US residents.
Is Margarine a common name?
We classify Margarine as "Very Rare". It ranks above 38.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 82 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Margarine most popular?
The single biggest year for Margarine was 1931, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Margarine is about 83 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Margarine a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Margarine in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.