Margaux
Feminine · “pearl”
Margaux is the French spelling of Margot, the pet form that grew out of Marguerite — a name that has been shortened this same way for centuries. The x is silent, so it lands in the mouth as two soft syllables, mar-GOH, ending on an open vowel. It belongs to the long Margaret family, one of the most traveled names in Europe, but wears a spelling that is unmistakably French and still charts in France today.
How old is the name Margaux?
Margaux first appears in US birth records in 1975 — 50 years ago. The typical Margaux is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 4,000 people named Margaux are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Margaux most popular?
Margaux peaked in 2021, reaching #1191 nationally. Today it ranks #1198, 7 places below that high. See the whole 2021 chart.
Margaux appears on these lists:
Works in French families too:
Where it comes from
From Margarites to Margaux
The story of Margaux
Marguerite was the standard French form of Margaret through the Middle Ages, and Margot was its ordinary short form — familiar enough to appear in French literature and song for centuries. Margaux is that same short form respelled with the French -aux ending, which is also the name of a commune in the Bordeaux wine region. The spelling reached American ears largely through the model and actress Margaux Hemingway, whose career in the 1970s coincides with the name's first appearance in US records. It has stayed on the charts quietly ever since, more visible in California, New York and Texas than elsewhere.
Meaning
pearl
The line runs back through Marguerite and Latin Margarita to Greek margarites, "pearl". In modern French, marguerite is also the everyday word for a daisy, so the name carries both readings in its home language.
How the name formed
- Margarites
- Margarita
- Marguerite
- Margot
- Margaux
Related forms: Margot · Marguerite · Margaret · Margherita · Margarita · Margarete
Pronouncing Margaux
mar-GOH
The x is entirely silent, exactly as in Margot. Some American speakers stress the first syllable instead, MAR-goh, and both are heard.
Nicknames for Margaux
High
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
- 1975
- Most girls named
- 2021204 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1191reached in 2021
- Change vs 2024
- −2.1%191 in 2025, from 195
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.
Margaux in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Margot in French — spelling variant
- Marguerite in French — related form
- Margaret in English — related form
- Margherita in Italian — related form
- Margarita in Spanish — related form
- Margarete in German — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Texas. INSEE rounds every published count to the nearest five for statistical confidentiality; the ranks are calculated from the exact figures. International figures from INSEE. Sources
Margauxs among us
people named Margaux are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 8,415 born in 2025 was named Margaux
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 Magaly test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Margaux's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Magaly climbed just as high around 1994, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Magaly's path sketches the road Margaux is walking now.
Margaux 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 Margaux is headed
Margaux should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High 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.
Margaux beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Margaux in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Comes with short forms already in circulation — Margo, Maggie, Mags — none of which need explaining.
- Sits inside the Margaret family, documented across Europe since the Middle Ages, with equivalents in French, Italian, Spanish, German and English.
- Recognizable in France as well as the US, so it travels without becoming a different name.
- Two syllables, ending on an open vowel, which pairs easily with most surnames.
- The silent x will need explaining often. Expect "Margaux, spelled with an x" to become a standard phrase, and expect Margot and Margo on mail and class lists.
- Some readers will say mar-GOX or MAR-gawks on first sight, particularly in places where French spellings are less familiar.
- Margaux is also a Bordeaux wine appellation, so the name carries a wine association for some adults — mild, and unlikely to follow a child through school.
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What they receive
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Margaux
Feminine · #1198 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Margauxs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,000 people named Margaux are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Margaux in 2025?
- Margaux ranks #1198 among US girl names in 2025, with 191 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Margaux?
- About 1 in every 8,415 US girls born in 2025 was named Margaux — 191 in all.
- Will my child share the name Margaux with classmates?
- Margaux will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Margaux
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Keilany#1198 · Kyleigh#1200 · Rylan#1200 · Jada#1200 · Averi#1200 · Maite#1192 · Odessa#1192 · Nori#1192
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Margaux? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Margaux and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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