Names starting with M

Maeve to Mohammad.

1. Maeve

   Girl

   Maeve has a queen in its stories. Maeve is connected with Medb, the warrior queen of Connacht in The Cattle Raid of Cooley.†

   † Medb is a figure of Irish legend; this is a literary connection, not a verified historical biography.

   From Medb to Maeve. Maeve is an anglicized form of Irish Medb. Its familiar meaning is “intoxicating”, though scholarly work also proposes a sense resembling “mead-woman”.†

   † “Intoxicating” is a conventional gloss; “mead-woman” is a tentative scholarly reconstruction of Medb. Neither describes a child’s personality.

2. Margot

   Girl

   Margot begins with Marguerite. Margot is a French short form of Marguerite, and a girls’ name in German too.

   The pearl connection. Margot inherits its “pearl” sense through Marguerite, whose history passes through Late Latin Margarita and Greek margaritēs.†

   † Before Greek, the word’s origin is uncertain.

   † “Pearl” comes through Marguerite rather than being a French translation of Margot. In older French, margot also became a word for a magpie and a disparaging word for a woman.

3. Maryam

   Girl

   Maryam in the Quran. Maryam appears by name in Quran 19:16, in the story of Mary. That scriptural connection may be what draws you to the name.

   Related to Mary and Miryam. Maryam belongs to the same name family as Mary and Miryam. Its oldest literal meaning is uncertain, so the relationship is firmer ground than any single translation.†

   † Several explanations have been proposed; no single ancient meaning is established.

   † Mary and Maryam are related forms; this does not mean Maryam developed from the English spelling.

4. Maya

   Girl

   Maya can carry different family stories. Maya has separate Sanskrit, Hebrew and English traditions; in English, it can come by way of Maia. The shared spelling leaves room for different family connections.†

   † These are documented paths, not an exhaustive list of every use of Maya.

   The Sanskrit connection. Sanskrit māyā can be translated as “illusion” or “magic”.†

   † “Illusion” and “magic” are limited translations. The philosophical senses vary by period and school; they do not simply say that the world is unreal.

   Maya and Maia. In English, Maya can be a variant of Maia, a name found in both Greek and Roman mythology, where it belongs to two separate figures.†

   † This is one English route. Greek and Roman Maia have distinct histories, and the spelling does not establish a family's chosen derivation.

5. Mila

   Girl

   A short name with several connections. Mila can shorten Slavic names such as Ludmilla. In Hungarian, it can also be short for Emilia or Camilla.

   Dear or beloved. In its Slavic use, Mila carries the sense of “dear” or “beloved,” from the element milŭ.

6. Mohammad

   Boy

   The Prophet's name. Mohammad is one spelling of the Prophet Muhammad's name. For families who name a son after the Prophet, that link can be part of what they pass on.†

   † This is a tradition in some Muslim communities, not an explanation for every person's name or a rule for all families.

   Praised or commendable. Mohammad comes from Arabic Muhammad, meaning “praised” or “commendable”. The related verb ḥamida means “to praise”.