More than 1.26 million Americans have been named Margaret since the SSA started tracking, putting it among the top 10 deepest girls' names in American history. The 1921 peak at rank 3 sits more than a century in the past, but Margaret has been climbing back since 2015 and is now at rank 119, its strongest position since 1972.
The Greek root and the saint corridor
Margaret comes from the Greek margarites, meaning "pearl," itself borrowed from an older Persian or Sanskrit root for the gem. The name spread through medieval Europe via Saint Margaret of Antioch (3rd or 4th century), one of the most widely venerated female saints of the medieval period, and later through Saint Margaret of Scotland (11th century), the English-born queen consort who became patron saint of Scotland.
The name's European royal use is unusually deep. Queen Margaret I of Denmark (14th century), Margaret Tudor of Scotland, Margaret of Anjou, and Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom (1930-2002) gave Margaret a continuous royal-aristocratic anchor across nearly a millennium of European naming.
The nickname ecosystem
Margaret's nickname options are unusually rich. Maggie, Meg, Peggy, Greta, Daisy, Margot, Maisie, Madge, and Margie all derive from Margaret, and different cultural traditions favor different short forms. Daisy as a Margaret-nickname comes from the French marguerite (the daisy flower), an etymological loop that gives the same root two distinct everyday landings.
That nickname optionality is part of why Margaret is climbing now. Parents who want a fully classical legal name with multiple soft nicknames find Margaret almost uniquely well-supplied compared to its peers.
The grandmother-name return
The counter-reading worth flagging is that Margaret's recent climb fits the broader grandmother-name revival that has also brought back Eleanor, Dorothy, Beatrice, and Florence. The cycle takes roughly four generations — names that peaked in the 1920s and faded in the mid-century are returning now as great-grandmother associations, far enough removed to feel fresh rather than old. Margaret in 2025 reads as deliberately classical without feeling dated.
Sibling pairings on naming forums lean toward similarly classic, multi-syllable picks: Margaret and Eleanor, Margaret and Charlotte, Margaret and Josephine. Middle names tend short and rooted: Margaret Rose, Margaret Jane, Margaret Kate, Margaret Mae. The Princess Margaret Rose echo (the British royal who shared that exact pairing) gives Margaret Rose a particular weight in transatlantic naming. For more classics, browse our 1920s decade picks.