Names That Mean Pearl

A combination of vintage Mae with popular suffix -lynn, Maelyn feels reminiscent of glamorous Marilyn and contemporary Raelynn. In use since at least the 80s, Maelyn practically doubled in popularity 2019 after singer Maelyn Jarmon won that year's season of The Voice. Given to around 180 babies in 2023, when you combine this with the 215 girls with the alternative -lynn spelling the same year, that makes for nearly 400 Maelyns.

Sixties-style nickname which is also the name of a small biting insect, particularly prevalent in Scotland.

Farida is a Muslim name more distinctive than the Americanized Farah/Farrah.

Gretel originated as a nickname for Margarete, the German form of Margaret. It’s a charming name, but most American parents prefer Greta, as Gretel is strongly tied to the fairy tale heroine.

This is a Scandinavian variant of Margaret, and is pronounced MEH-teh or MET, rhyming with jet.

A punchy alternative to Pearl as it gains popularity.

Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza is popularizing this one.

Megan was one of the first trendy names to spawn lots of spelling variations: This is one of the most tenacious and confusing.

An old royal name in England and Scotland that's also spelled Marjorie. Popular in the Middle Ages and Tudor period, it was revived at the end of the 19th century, peaked in 1921 and dropped off the list in 1958, enough time to be reconsidered as a Margaret alternative. The name Margery Daw is familiar via the seesaw nursery rhyme and Margery Williams wrote the children's classic The Velveteen Rabbit..

Meret is an interesting name found in several cultures. In Egyptian mythology, she was a goddess associated with singing, dancing and rejoicing and her meaning is 'beloved.' But the name also has significance in Hebrew, Danish and Norwegian. Close relatives include Merete and Maret.

A super diminutive nickname name, and sometime Madonna nickname – it was how the British tabloids referred to her when she moved to London in the 1990s, which she found annoying until then husband Guy Ritchie said it stood for 'Your Majesty'. Madge Undersee is Katniss's best friend in The Hunger Games books.

Everyone is loving Lu- names nowadays, so why not add this sweet East African one to your list?

Diminutive of Mairead, the Irish form of Margaret.

A jewel-encrusted choice, far more unusual than Pearl.

While we would think of Pearlie as a girlish pet form of Pearl today, it was a unisex name in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Among males, it was disproportionately used among African Americans.

Rare and rhythmic.

This unusual variation of Margaret is the real first name of actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. It can make a distinctive way to honor an ancestral Margaret or a different long form for such nicknames as Maggie, Meg, or Margo.

This name of Polish supermodel Malgosia Bela doesn't sound so bella here--has a bit of an evil witch quality.

A unique international short form of Margaret.