Given name
Mairead
“resembling a pearl”·“the child of light”
Mairead is a variant of Margaret. Interpretations include “resembling a pearl” and “the child of light”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Mairead is a variant of Margaret. Interpretations include “resembling a pearl” and “the child of light”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1967. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Mairead through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,402
- 0 boys · 1,402 girls
- Most popular year
- 2002
- 59 babies
- 2025
- 33
- #4,317 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +3%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 33 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 4,317 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 2.9% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 59 in 2002. In 2025, Massachusetts had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (11). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,366 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Mairead’s family of names
In Scottish Gaelic usage, Mairead has a diminutive in Magaidh. Mairead has a related form in Margaret. In Scottish Gaelic usage, Mairead has a conventional equivalent in the English form Margaret.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Mairead has relatives in 5 languages.
9 related names in 5 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 18
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Mairead
- Mairead Maguirepeace activist (born 1944)
- Mairead McGuinnessIrish politician and European Commissionerborn 1959
- Peig SayersIrish writer (1873–1958)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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