Margaret | Name Meaning & Origin

Scottish Names, English Names, Greek Names, Middle Names

English speaking countries

English form of the latinised Greek name meaning "pearl".

An extremely common name from the Middle Ages onwards.

St Margaret of Antioch was a virgin martyr, there is little evidence to suggest that she actually existed, but her cult became widespread in England in the Middle Ages.

St Margaret of Scotland was a Scottish queen in the 11th century, and the mother of three subsequent Scottish kings. There is also a Queen Margaret of Scotland from the 13th century, the 'Maid of Norway', whose death left no obvious heir and sparked the Scottish Wars of Independence.

There have been two queens of Denmark named Margaret, including the current queen.

Other famous bearers include the mother of Henry VII, Margaret Beaufort, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, novelists Margaret Atwood and Margaret Mitchell and Queen Elizabeth II's younger sister, Princess Margaret.