Names That Mean Pearl

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

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.

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.

An unusual and straightforward name with an attractive Scandinavian accent; a royal name in Norway.

Meg, perennially one of the Little Women, is a Margaret short form that manages to be neither quite in nor quite out of style. Meg is sleeker and more sophisticated than Maggie, more contemporary than Peg, more stylish than Megan, and still one of the best diminutives of Margaret.

Meg Ryan was born Margaret Mary Emily Anne.

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.

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..

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.

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.

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

Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza is popularizing this one.

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.

A beautiful and little-known Arabic member of the super-stylish Lu- group of names, with a lovely natural meanings.

So many short forms of Margaret, from Peggy all the way through Maggie and Megan, are outdated now that Mago has value simply by being undiscovered. But still, not very appealing.

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

Rare and rhythmic.

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.

Diminutive of Mairead, the Irish form of Margaret.

This obscure Margaret variation was a popular name in medieval Scotland and could make a truly distinctive, feminine choice today.