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Margaret

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Margaret
Margaret the Virgin is one of many saints named Margaret.
Genderfemale
Origin
Word/nameGreek, Sanskrit, Persian
MeaningPearl
Other names
Related namesMaggie, Mairead, Mags, Madge, Marge, Margie, Meg, Megan, Meggie, Greta, and Peggy.

Margaret is a female first name, derived via French (Marguerite) and Latin (Margarita) from Greek Margarites, derived from the noun margaron meaning 'pearl'.[1] The Greek is closely related to the Sanskrit मञ्जरी mañjarī meaning 'pearl' or 'cluster of blossoms.'[2][3][4] Alternately, it might be of Persian origin, derived from the Persian language marvârid (مروارید), a pearl or daughter of light.

Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular throughout the Middle Ages. It became less popular between the 16th century and 18th century, but became more common again after this period, becoming the second most popular name in the United States in 1903. Since this time, it has become less common, but is still the ninth most common name for women of all ages in the United States as of the 1990 census.

It has a large number of diminutive forms in many different languages, including Maggie, Madge, Mags, Maisie, Marge, Meg, Megan, Mog, Moggie, Rita, Daisy, Greta, Gretel, Gretchen, Magee, Marg, Margot, May, Molly, Peggy and Peg.[5]

Variant forms

Alternate forms of Margaret, including short forms and pet names, include:

Name Margaret in other languages

Nicknames of Margaret

  • Maggie
  • Mar
  • Marg
  • Marge
  • Margey
  • Margie
  • Meg
  • Meggy
  • Peg
  • Peggy
  • Pegeen
  • Maisie
  • Mamie
  • Margo
  • Madge
  • Molly
  • Malla
  • Midge
  • Marga
  • Daisy
  • Mags
  • Margu
  • Greta
  • Gretel
  • Marya

People called Margaret

This is a list of notable people with the first name Margaret:

Artists and authors

Educators and scholars

Other

Other notable uses of this name

Royal figures

Belgium and the Netherlands (the Low Countries)

Denmark

England

France

Austria

Hungary

Italy

Norway

Portugal

Romania

Scotland

Sweden

Religious figures

Four women named Margaret have been beatified. These are:

Several Saints are named Margaret including:

and also a number of other saintly Margarets:

Places

Flower

Margarita is Spanish for the word "Daisy (Bellis perennis)" which is a type of flower. Also, in the Russian language "Margaritka" is the word used for the flower Daisy.

Characters in fiction writing

Shakespeare
Elizabeth Gaskell
  • Margaret Hale (in North and South 1855)
Goethe
Alexandre Dumas, fils
Alexandre Dumas, père
Brothers Grimm
Bulgakov
Other

See also

References

  1. ^ Hanks, Patrick, Kate Hardcastle, and Flavia Hodges, Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press.
  2. ^ "View Name: Margaret". Behind the Name. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  3. ^ "Margaret". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  4. ^ "Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary". Universität zu Köln (University of Cologne). Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  5. ^ Cecil Adams (8 January 1993). "Why is Peggy the nickname for Margaret?". The Straight Dope. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
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