Margeret
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "pearl".
Name Census estimates that about 261 living Americans carry the first name Margeret. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Margeret today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Margeret births was 1918 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Margeret. 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 Margeret is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Margerets were born before 1966.
People living today
261
~ 1 in 1,313,235 Americans
Peak year
1918
38 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
2003 SSA rank
#15,055
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Margeret: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Margeret from the 1880s through to the 2000s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 221 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
Margeret 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 Margeret during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Margerets live
Origin
Meaning and history of Margeret
Margeret is a feminine given name that originated from the Greek word "margarites," meaning "pearl." It is derived from the Old French name "Marguerite," which was a popular name during the Middle Ages.
The name Margeret first appeared in historical records around the 12th century, and it was particularly common among the nobility and royalty of Europe. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the literary work "Roman de la Rose," written by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun in the 13th century.
In the 14th century, Margeret became a popular name in England, particularly after the birth of Princess Margeret, the daughter of King Edward III and Queen Philippa of Hainault. Princess Margeret was born in 1346 and played a significant role in the negotiations that led to the Treaty of Brétigny, which temporarily brought peace between England and France during the Hundred Years' War.
Another notable Margeret in history was Margeret of Anjou, the wife of King Henry VI of England. She was born in 1430 and played a crucial role in the Wars of the Roses, leading the Lancastrian forces against the House of York. Margeret of Anjou was known for her fierce determination and unwavering loyalty to her husband's cause.
In the 16th century, Margeret of Navarre, the sister of King Francis I of France, was a prominent figure in the French Renaissance. Born in 1492, she was a prolific writer and a patron of the arts, renowned for her works such as the "Heptameron" and her support for the ideals of the Reformation.
The name Margeret also has religious significance, as it is associated with St. Margaret of Antioch, a 4th-century Christian martyr who was venerated in the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. According to legend, she was swallowed by a dragon but emerged unharmed after making the sign of the cross.
Other notable figures who bore the name Margeret include Margeret Tudor, the elder sister of King Henry VIII of England and the Queen of Scotland through her marriage to King James IV; Margeret Cavendish, a 17th-century English philosopher, poet, and playwright; and Margeret Atwood, the renowned Canadian author and literary critic born in 1939.
People
Margeret + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Margeret 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
Margeret: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Margeret?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 261 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Margeret 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 1,313,235 US residents.
Is Margeret a common name?
We classify Margeret as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 972 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Margeret most popular?
The single biggest year for Margeret was 1918, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Margeret is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Margeret a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Margeret 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.