Explore the Family Name Margaret

The meaning of Margaret

English: from the Middle English female personal name Margaret, which is derived via French from Greek margaritēs ‘pearl’.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Margaret in the United States?

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Margaret has seen a significant decrease between the years 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked at 57,985 with a count of 328 persons bearing the surname per 100,000 population. By 2010, the rank had slipped to 96,368 with only 189 people carrying the name per 100,000 population. This represents a change of -66.19 in rank and a -42.38 decrease in count, or a 50% reduction in proportion.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#57,985	#96,368	-66.19%
Count	328	189	-42.38%
Proportion per 100k	0.12	0.06	-50%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Margaret

Regarding ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows certain shifts in the distribution of the surname Margaret among different ethnic identities over the same period. In 2000, the largest proportion of individuals with this surname identified as White (82.32%), followed by Black (7.62%), Hispanic (5.18%), and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.74%). Fast forward to 2010, while the majority still identified as White (76.72%), there were notable increases in the proportions identifying as Black (13.23%) and Hispanic (6.88%). The percentage of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander also rose slightly to 3.17%. There were no individuals with the surname who identified as belonging to two or more races or as American Indian and Alaskan Native during these census periods.

	2000	2010	Change
White	82.32%	76.72%	-6.8%
Black	7.62%	13.23%	73.62%
Hispanic	5.18%	6.88%	32.82%
Asian/Pacific Islander	2.74%	3.17%	15.69%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%