Peggie
A feminine diminutive form of the name Margaret, itself derived from the Greek "margaron" meaning pearl.
Name Census estimates that about 3,102 living Americans carry the first name Peggie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Peggie today is around 73 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Peggie births was 1948 (258 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Peggie. 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 Peggie is about 73 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Peggies were born before 1963.
People living today
3.1K
~ 1 in 110,495 Americans
Peak year
1948
258 babies that year
Average age
73
years old
2001 SSA rank
#14,870
Tracked since 1886
Popularity
Peggie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Peggie from the 1880s through to the 2000s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 2,115 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Peggie 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 Peggie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Peggies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 29 states and territories. North Carolina, Texas, Georgia recorded the most babies named Peggie, while Oregon, New Jersey, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 163 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Peggie
The given name Peggie is a feminine form of the name Peg, which itself is a pet form or diminutive of the name Margaret. Margaret is derived from the Greek name Margarites, meaning "pearl." The name has its roots in ancient Greece and gradually spread across Europe through the influence of Christianity.
In the Middle Ages, the name Margaret became popular across various parts of Europe, particularly in regions with a strong Christian tradition. It was a common name among nobility and royalty, with several notable figures bearing this name, including Margaret of Anjou, the Queen of England in the 15th century.
The diminutive form Peg, and its variant spelling Peggie, emerged as a nickname or affectionate form of Margaret during the late medieval and early modern periods. These shortened versions were commonly used in everyday speech and informal settings.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Peggie can be found in the writings of the English poet and playwright William Shakespeare. In his play "King Lear," written around 1606, one of the characters is referred to as "Peggie."
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Peggie. One such example is Peggie Guggenheim (1898-1979), an American art collector and patron of the arts, who played a significant role in promoting modern art in the 20th century.
Another prominent figure with the name Peggie was Peggie Castle (1927-1973), an American actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and television shows during the 1950s and 1960s.
Peggie Fenwick (1933-2018) was a British artist and potter known for her innovative ceramic sculptures and her contributions to the studio pottery movement in the United Kingdom.
In the literary world, Peggie Woodburn (1923-2004) was a Scottish novelist and short story writer who authored several works exploring themes of family life and relationships.
Peggie Miller (1915-1984) was an American singer and actress who performed in Broadway musicals and films during the Golden Age of Hollywood.
The name Peggie, while not as commonly used today as its longer form Margaret, has a rich history and has been borne by notable figures across various fields, including the arts, literature, and entertainment.
People
Peggie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Peggie as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Peggie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Peggie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,102 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Peggie 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 110,495 US residents.
Is Peggie a common name?
We classify Peggie as "Rare". It ranks above 95.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,355 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Peggie most popular?
The single biggest year for Peggie was 1948, when 258 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Peggie is about 73 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Peggie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Peggie 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.