Margit
Feminine · “pearl”
Margit is the Hungarian and Scandinavian form of a name the whole of Europe shares, and American records treat it as a name of its own. The Hungarian side of it carries a story about a vow made under invasion.
How old is the name Margit?
Margit first appears in US birth records in 1908 — 117 years ago. The typical Margit alive today was born around 1952, making them about 73 years old. About 400 people named Margit are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Margit most popular?
Margit peaked in 1908, reaching #1862 nationally. See the whole 1908 chart.
Where it comes from
From margarites to Margit
The story of Margit
The Mongol invasion of Hungary in twelve forty-one destroyed a substantial part of the country in a year. The king, Béla the Fourth, is said to have vowed that if the kingdom survived he would dedicate his next child to the church. The Mongols withdrew, a daughter was born, and she was placed in a Dominican convent as a small child and spent her life there, on an island in the Danube built for the purpose. She refused two political marriages, including one to a king, and by all accounts took the harshest possible view of what the vow required of her — the accounts of her austerities are hard reading. The island in the middle of Budapest still carries her name and is now the city's main park, with the convent ruins in the middle of it.
Meaning
pearl
From the Greek word for a pearl, borrowed into Greek from further east and with an unsettled origin beyond that. Hungarian and the Scandinavian languages arrived at the same short form independently, which is why one spelling covers both.
How the name formed
- margarites
- Margaréta
- Margit
Related forms: Margit · Margit · Margit
Pronouncing Margit
MAR-git
Two syllables with the stress at the front, which Hungarian fixes on the first syllable of every word. The g is hard, which the English eye does not guarantee.
Nicknames for Margit
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
- 1908
- Most girls named
- 195920 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1862reached in 1908
- Change vs 1991
- +33.3%8 in 1993, from 6
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.
Margit in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Margit in Hungarian — same name
- Margit in Norwegian — same name
- Margit in Swedish — same name
Margits among us
people named Margit are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Margit sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Two syllables with front stress is the plainest shape there is.
- The meaning is documented and concrete.
- It is the genuine form in three languages rather than an approximation.
- Margot, Margie and Margaret will all be written for it.
- English readers may soften the g, which gives a different name.
- It reads as distinctly central European, which suits some families and not others.
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What they receive
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Margit
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Margits are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Margit are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Margit in 2025?
- Margit is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Margit with classmates?
- Margit will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Mary#125 · Margaret#112 · Michelle#465 · Melissa#419 · Maria#87 · Martha#712 · Marie#617 · Mildred#1962
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Margit? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Margit and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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