Girls' name · peaked in 1916
Margaret name popularity since 1925
824,439 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Margaret. Half of them were born in 1948 or earlier, so the typical Margaret is about 78 years old in 2026. Margaret peaked in 1916 as the #4 name for girls, and it ranked #112 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 824,439
- Named Margaret, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1916
- #4 for girls that year
- In 2025
- #112
- for girls in 2025 (2,436 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 821,880 girls · 2,559 boys
- Most popular in
- District of Columbia
- 1.92× its national share
Peak year is the year Margaret made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Margaret births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1925. Measured as a share of all babies, Margaret peaked earlier, in 1916.
- Steepest fall: Between 1967 and 1972, Margaret's share of baby girls fell by 43%, from 1 in 265 to 1 in 463.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Margaret's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Margaret.
Decade by decade
Babies named Margaret in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 109,006 | 421 | – |
| 1930s | 157,369 | 708 | #8 |
| 1940s | 173,028 | 490 | #15 |
| 1950s | 149,582 | 316 | #24 |
| 1960s | 81,870 | 260 | #52 |
| 1970s | 31,947 | 120 | #98 |
| 1980s | 30,352 | 160 | #90 |
| 1990s | 31,294 | 66 | #104 |
| 2000s | 23,919 | 12 | #151 |
| 2010s | 20,036 | 6 | #155 |
| 2020–25 | 13,477 | 0 | #112 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
35.7% of babies named Margaret from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Silent Generation years (1928–1945). The full split by generation:
Where Margaret is most popular
The index compares Margaret's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Margaret.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 1.92× | 7,361 |
| Pennsylvania | 1.71× | 72,125 |
| Delaware | 1.54× | 2,661 |
| South Carolina | 1.48× | 17,261 |
| Vermont | 1.44× | 1,994 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Margaret and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Margaret (this page) | 821,880 | 1916 |
| Margarett | 3,538 | 1922 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Margaret's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Margaret.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Margaret (1916).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data