Margarite
A feminine name of French origin meaning "pearl".
Name Census estimates that about 599 living Americans carry the first name Margarite. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Margarite today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Margarite births was 1925 (52 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Margarite. 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.
People living today
599
~ 1 in 572,211 Americans
Peak year
1925
52 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
2015 SSA rank
#18,169
Tracked since 1888
Census
Margarite in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,034 people with the first name Margarite, which placed it at #12,151 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#12,151
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,034 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Margarite
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Margarite is White at 51.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.4%) and Black (17.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Margarite described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Margarite at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.1% · 528
- Hispanic or Latino26.4% · 273
- Black or African American17.7% · 183
- Two or more races2.9% · 30
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 7
Popularity
Margarite: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Margarite from the 1880s through to the 2010s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 413 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
Margarite 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 Margarite during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Margarites live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Margarite, while Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 22 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Margarite
The name Margarite is derived from the Greek word "margarites", meaning pearl. This name has its origins in antiquity, with references to it found in ancient Greek literature and texts.
The earliest known use of the name Margarite dates back to the 3rd century AD, when it was mentioned in a text by the Greek writer Athenaeus. The name was likely used earlier, as pearls were highly valued and symbolic in ancient Greek culture.
In medieval times, the name Margarite gained popularity in Europe, particularly in France and England. It was often associated with royalty and nobility, as pearls were seen as a symbol of wealth and status.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Margarite was Saint Margaret of Antioch, a semi-legendary virgin martyr who lived in the 3rd or 4th century AD. Her story and name became popular during the Middle Ages, contributing to the widespread use of the name.
Another notable Margarite was Margarite of Provence, born in 1221, who was the wife of King Louis IX of France. She was known for her piety and charitable works, and her name was often associated with virtue and grace.
In the 16th century, Margarite de Valois, born in 1553, was a French princess and the wife of King Henry IV of France. She was a renowned patron of the arts and played a significant role in the cultural life of the French Renaissance.
During the Renaissance period, the name Margarite was also popular among artists and writers. Margarite of Navarre, born in 1492, was a French princess and author who is remembered for her collection of short stories, the Heptameron.
In the 17th century, Margarite Yourcenar, born in 1903, was a renowned French author and the first woman to be elected to the Académie Française. Her works, including the novel "Memoirs of Hadrian", earned her international acclaim and numerous literary awards.
Through the ages, the name Margarite has maintained its association with beauty, purity, and nobility. Its Greek roots and historical connections have contributed to its enduring popularity across various cultures and time periods.
People
Margarite + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Margarite 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
Margarite: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Margarite?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 599 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Margarite 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 572,211 US residents.
Is Margarite a common name?
We classify Margarite as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,920 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Margarite most popular?
The single biggest year for Margarite was 1925, when 52 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Margarite is about 64 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Margarite in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,034 people with the name Margarite, or 0.34 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,151 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Margarite in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Margarite?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Margarite appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,036 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Margarite?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Margarite is White at 51.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.4%) and Black (17.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Margarite most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Margarite in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.1% (528 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Margarite in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Margarite a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Margarite 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.
Is Margarite still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Margarite in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Margarite can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people share the name Margarite?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.