Margaret
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Ancient Greek. From the name of 3rd century Saint Margaret the Virgin, from Middle English Margaret, from Old French Margaret (French Marguerite), from Latin Margarita, from Ancient Greek μαργαρίτης (margarítēs, “pearl”), ultimately from an Indo-Iranian source. The same source, through folk etymology, has produced Old English meregrot (“pearl”, literally “stone or pebble of the sea”), related to Old Saxon merigrita, merigriota (“pearl”), Old High German merigrioz, equivalent to mer- + groat.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Margaret (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Few babies have been given the name since 1998; it belongs mostly to older generations. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | – |
| 2005 | – |
| 2006 | – |
| 2007 | 2 |
| 2008 | – |
| 2009 | – |
| 2010 | – |
| 2011 | – |
| 2012 | – |
| 2013 | – |
| 2014 | – |
| 2015 | – |
| 2016 | – |
| 2017 | – |
| 2018 | – |
| 2019 | – |
| 2020 | 2 |
| 2021 | – |
| 2022 | – |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 553 |
| 2000 | 553 |
| 2001 | 556 |
| 2002 | 552 |
| 2003 | 541 |
| 2004 | 539 |
| 2005 | 544 |
| 2006 | 543 |
| 2007 | 542 |
| 2008 | 540 |
| 2009 | 535 |
| 2010 | 541 |
| 2011 | 532 |
| 2012 | 522 |
| 2013 | 520 |
| 2014 | 516 |
| 2015 | 510 |
| 2016 | 510 |
| 2017 | 503 |
| 2018 | 506 |
| 2019 | 502 |
| 2020 | 498 |
Margaret in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Margaret.Hi! My name is Margaret.
- Har du träffat Margaret? Hon började jobba här i måndags.Have you met Margaret? She started working here on Monday.
- Margaret har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Margaret has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Margarets mamma är lärare.Margaret's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Margarets mamma is Margaret's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Margaret
How do you pronounce Margaret in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Margaret in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Margaret mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Ancient Greek. From the name of 3rd century Saint Margaret the Virgin, from Middle English Margaret, from Old French Margaret (French Marguerite), from Latin Margarita, from Ancient Greek μαργαρίτης (margarítēs, “pearl”), ultimately from an Indo-Iranian source. The same source, through folk etymology, has produced Old English meregrot (“pearl”, literally “stone or pebble of the sea”), related to Old Saxon merigrita, merigriota (“pearl”), Old High German merigrioz, equivalent to mer- + groat.
How popular is Margaret in Sweden?
Fewer than two babies of either sex were named Margaret in 2022. In 2020, 498 people in Sweden had Margaret as the first name they go by.
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.