Mairead
Feminine · “pearl”
Mairéad is the Irish form of Margaret, and the pearl behind it may have traveled to Greek from Persia or India before anyone in Europe heard it.
How old is the name Mairead?
Mairead first appears in US birth records in 1967 — 58 years ago. The typical Mairead alive today was born around 2004, making them about 21 years old. About 1,400 people named Mairead are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mairead most popular?
Mairead peaked in 1997, reaching #2450 nationally. Today it ranks #4265, 1,815 places below that high. See the whole 1997 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From margarites to Mairead
The story of Mairead
The Greeks did not have pearls before contact with the east, and the word margarites looks like a borrowing — which would make the name a piece of Indian Ocean trade preserved in European naming. Saint Margaret of Antioch had an enormous medieval cult and the name spread everywhere. Irish gives Mairéad, with the accent marking a long vowel, and it is well used in Ireland.
Meaning
pearl
From Greek margarites, a pearl, itself probably borrowed from an eastern source — Persian or an Indian language have both been proposed. Irish took Mairéad through Latin and French.
How the name formed
- margarites
- Margaret
- Mairéad
Related forms: Mairéad · Mairead · Margaret
Pronouncing Mairead
muh-RAYD
Two syllables with the stress on the second; the accent marks the long vowel.
Nicknames for Mairead
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1967
- Most girls named
- 200259 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2450reached in 1997
- Change vs 2024
- +73.7%33 in 2025, from 19
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Mairead in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Mairéad in Irish — same name
- Mairead in Scottish Gaelic — same name
- Margaret in English — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Massachusetts, New York, Illinois.
Maireads among us
people named Mairead are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 48,705 born in 2025 was named Mairead
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Karna test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Mairead's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Karna climbed just as high around 1970, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Karna's path sketches the road Mairead is walking now.
Mairead sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Mairead is headed
Mairead should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Mairead beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Mairead in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning with a genuinely long-distance trade history behind the word.
- It carries Irish identity clearly, which is the point for the families who use it.
- Margaret stands behind it as the familiar English form.
- The accent is dropped by American systems, which loses the long vowel.
- Americans will not read the spelling correctly without being taught.
- Mairead, Mairéad and Maread are all in use and only the second is standard Irish.
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What they receive
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Mairead
Feminine · #4265 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Maireads are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,400 people named Mairead are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Mairead in 2025?
- Mairead ranks #4265 among US girl names in 2025, with 33 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Mairead?
- About 1 in every 48,705 US girls born in 2025 was named Mairead — 33 in all.
- Will my child share the name Mairead with classmates?
- Mairead will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Mairead
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Hyacinth#4265 · Halina#4265 · Michal#4265 · Sadia#4265 · Zahava#4265 · Maiah#4265 · Daysi#4265 · Corrie#4265
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mairead? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Mairead and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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