How popular is the baby name Margaret in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Margaret.

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Popularity of the baby name Margaret


Posts that mention the name Margaret

First names from King Henry III’s fine rolls (1200s)

Henry III of England
Henry III of England

I’ve got some 13th-century English names for you today!

They come from the fine rolls of Henry III of England (1216–1272).

“Fine rolls” were basically financial records. They kept track of money offered to the king in return for concessions and favors. King Henry III wasn’t the first to keep them, but they “expand[ed] considerably in size and content during Henry’s reign.”

For a time, the Henry III Fine Rolls Project — the aim of which was to “democratize the contents” of Henry III’s fine rolls “by making them freely available in English translation to everyone via a website” — hosted a sortable database of all the given names in the rolls. While that database was available, I used it to create lists of the most-mentioned male and female names. (All the names are still online, but they’re no longer sortable.)

The rankings below — which cover a wide range of birth years, and a small segment of society — aren’t the same as the single-year, society-wide baby name rankings we’re accustomed to. But they do give us a general idea of which names were the most popular during the 1200s.

Of the 8,423 male names in the fine rolls, these were the most popular:

  1. William (1,217 mentions)
  2. John (669)
  3. Richard (495)
  4. Robert (434)
  5. Henry (376)
  6. Ralph (365)
  7. Thomas (351)
  8. Walter (346)
  9. Roger (337)
  10. Hugh (297)
  11. Geoffrey (261)
  12. Simon (218)
  13. Adam (200)
  14. Nicholas, Peter (180 each)
  15. Gilbert (157)
  16. Alan (110)
  17. Phillip (109)
  18. Reginald (88)
  19. Stephen (83)
  20. Elias (66)
  21. Alexander (65)
  22. Osbert (52)
  23. Eustace (44)
  24. Andrew, Matthew (42 each)
  25. Ranulf (40)

Other names on the men’s list: Hamo, Fulk, Payn, Waleran, Drogo, Engeram, Amfrid, Ratikin, Walkelin, Bonefey, Fulcher, Hasculf, Herlewin, Joldwin, Lefsi, Marmaduke, Orm, Albizium, Cocky, Deulobene, Gwenwynwyn, Markewart.

Of the 1,314 female names in the fine rolls, these were the most popular:

  1. Alice (140 mentions)
  2. Matilda (138)
  3. Agnes (76)
  4. Margaret (69)
  5. Joan (62)
  6. Isabella (60)
  7. Emma (37)
  8. Beatrice (34)
  9. Mabel (33)
  10. Cecilia (32)
  11. Christiana (30)
  12. Hawise (29)
  13. Juliana (27)
  14. Sibyl (25)
  15. Rose (21)
  16. Sarra (16)
  17. Helewise (15)
  18. Avice, Eleanor, Eva, Lucy (14 each)
  19. Leticia (13)
  20. Felicia (12)
  21. Isolda, Margery, Petronilla (11 each)
  22. Ascelina, Edith (10 each)
  23. Phillippa (9)
  24. Amice, Elena, Katherine, Mary, Sabina (8 each)
  25. Basilia, Muriel (7 each)

Other names on the women’s list: Albrea, Amabilia, Eustachia, Idonea, Egidia, Millicent, Amphelisa, Avegaya, Barbata, Comitessa, Frethesenta, Wulveva, Alveva, Dervorguilla, Deulecresse, Elizabeth (just 1!), Flandrina, Oriolda.

A researcher working on the project reported that, of all the men mentioned in the rolls, 14.4% were named William and 7.9% were named John. She also noted that, just like today, the female names showed a greater amount of diversity:

Compared with 57.8 per cent of the men, only 51.8 per cent of the women had one of the top ten names. And 9.44 per cent of the women had names that occurred only once, whereas 3.38 per cent of the men had names that occurred only once.

See any names you like?

Sources: The Henry III Fine Rolls by David Carpenter, The Henry III Fine Rolls Project, ‘William’ most popular medieval name – King’s College London
Image: Henry III (13th-century illustration)

[Latest update: June 2023]

What popularized the baby name Tara?

Tara, the plantation from the movie "Gone with the Wind" (1939).
Tara, the plantation from “Gone with the Wind“

The heroine of the book Gone with the Wind (1936), Katie Scarlett O’Hara, was originally called Pansy O’Hara.

And that’s not the only name change that author Margaret Mitchell made before her book was published.

She also changed the name of Scarlett’s stately home, originally called Fontenoy Hall, to Tara — after Ireland’s Hill of Tara.

What happened to the baby name Tara after the movie version of Gone with the Wind came out in 1939? It immediately debuted on the baby name charts:

  • 1941: 14 baby girls named Tara
  • 1940: 13 baby girls named Tara
  • 1939: 7 baby girls named Tara [debut]
  • 1938: unlisted
  • 1937: unlisted

Usage continued to rise through the ’40s and ’50s. And, thanks to television, it was given two big boosts in the late ’60s and early ’70s — one from The Avengers character Tara King (on the show from 1968 to 1969), the other from soap opera All My Children character Tara Martin (introduced in 1970).

  • 1973: 6,706 baby girls named Tara (rank: 37th)
  • 1972: 7,230 baby girls named Tara (rank: 38th)
  • 1971: 6,327 baby girls named Tara (rank: 50th)
  • 1970: 5,334 baby girls named Tara (rank: 69th)
  • 1969: 3,519 baby girls named Tara (rank: 107th)
  • 1968: 2,184 baby girls named Tara (rank: 147th)
  • 1967: 1,290 baby girls named Tara (rank: 229th)

Tara landed inside the top 40 six different times during the 1970s, far surpassing the popularity of Scarlett, which couldn’t even make the top 1,000 that decade.

But, as with all fads, after the rise comes the fall. Tara was out of the top 100 by the early ’90s. It ranked 775th in 2010, and could drop out of the top 1,000 entirely within the next few years.

Source: Walker, Marianne. Margaret Mitchell and John Marsh: The Love Story Behind Gone With the Wind. Atlanta, Georgia: Peachtree Publishers, 2011.

What popularized the baby name Scarlett?

The character Scarlett O'Hara (played by Vivien Leigh) from the movie "Gone with the Wind" (1939).
Scarlett O’Hara from “Gone with the Wind” (1939)

The baby name Scarlett is currently within spitting distance of the top 100, thanks in large part to actress Scarlett Johansson.

What put it on the map originally, though, was Margaret Mitchell’s novel Gone with the Wind (1936).

Did you know that Katie Scarlett O’Hara was nearly named Pansy? It’s true. Scarlett might never have become a baby name at all had Margaret Mitchell not decided, months after her book was accepted for publication, to change the character’s name from Pansy to Scarlett. She explained:

The name Scarlett was chosen six months after my book was sold….I submitted nearly a hundred names to my publishers and they chose Scarlett,–I may add it was my choice too.

Other names under consideration were Robin, Kells, Storm and Angel.

What made her settle on Scarlett?

As to why I chose the name of Scarlett — first, because I came across the name of Katie Scarlett so often in Irish literature and so I made it Gerald’s Mother’s maiden name. Second, while I of course knew of the Scarlett family on our Georgia Coast, I could find no record of any family named Scarlett in Clayton County between the years 1859 and 1873.

The surname originally denoted a maker or seller of a bright (often red-colored) woolen cloth called scarlet.

How many babies were named Scarlett following the book’s publication?

  • 1939: 7 baby girls named Scarlett
  • 1938: 6 baby girls named Scarlett
  • 1937: 7 baby girls named Scarlett [debut]
  • 1936: unlisted
  • 1935: unlisted

Of course, the film version of Gone with the Wind, released at the very end of 1939, is what really gave the name a boost:

  • 1945: 34 baby girls named Scarlett
  • 1944: 45 baby girls named Scarlett
  • 1943: 68 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 964th)
  • 1942: 76 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 901st)
  • 1941: 77 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 828th)
  • 1940: 59 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 943rd)

In the movie, Scarlett was played by actress Vivien Leigh. (The name Vivien saw a spike in usage in 1940 as well.)

The name Scarlett slowly picked up steam over the following decades and, by the end of the century, several hundred baby girls were being named Scarlett every year.

When Scarlett Johansson emerged on the scene in the early 2000s, usage of the name and its variants (Scarlet, Scarlette, Scarleth, Escarlet, Escarleth, Escarlett) increased at a much faster rate:

  • 2010: 2,716 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 115th)
  • 2009: 1,921 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 170th)
  • 2008: 1,621 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 211th)
  • 2007: 1,583 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 218th)
  • 2006: 1,116 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 297th)
  • 2005: 733 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 423rd)
  • 2004: 538 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 528th)
  • 2003: 327 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 759th)
  • 2002: 290 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 806th)
  • 2001: 237 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 938th)
  • 2000: 227 baby girls named Scarlett (rank: 942nd)

Do you think any of the other names Mitchell considered — Pansy, Robin, Kells, Storm, Angel — would have made a better character name? Do you think any of them could have caught on as a baby name the way Scarlett did?

Sources:

  • Bates, Karen Grigsby. “Shrewd, Selfish Scarlett: A Complicated Heroine.” NPR 28 Jan. 2008.
  • Walker, Marianne. Margaret Mitchell and John Marsh: The Love Story Behind Gone With the Wind. Atlanta, Georgia: Peachtree Publishers, 2011.

Other Gone with the Wind posts: Tara, Suellen, Carreen, Melanie

Baby name story: Amen

Photo of baby Amen Bow (b. 1953, Michigan).
Margaret and Amen Bow

In October of 1953, Margaret and Alexander Bow of Ypsilanti, Michigan, welcomed a 9-pound, 6-ounce baby boy. He was their 15th child.

He was named Amen because, as Margaret explained, “a large family is a blessing of the Lord.”

With the addition of Amen, they had eight girls (Winifred, Celia, Cora, Eva, Gertrude, Fathye, Gayle, and Hope) and seven boys (Richard, Frank, Gary, David, Daniel, Carl, and Amen).

Though Margaret noted that Amen probably wouldn’t be their last child — that “she expect[ed] to have several more babies” — it looks as though they did indeed conclude things with Amen.

Which is fitting, as amen is the word used to conclude religious prayers in Abrahamic religions. It ultimately comes from a Hebrew word meaning “certainly, verily.”

Sources:

Image: Clipping from Jet magazine (5 Nov. 1953)