Girl · #5,453 in 2026

Mairead

Name: Popularity of the name Mairead in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Mairead, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

Mairead, also spelt Maighread, is a feminine given name, the Scottish Gaelic equivalent of Margaret. The Irish form is spelt Mairéad, Máiréad, Maighréad, or Máighréad. Maisie is the pet form of Mairead.

Scottish Gaelic
Irish

Current Rank

#5,453

Peak Rank

#2,450 (2002)

Total Babies

5-Yr Trend

-11%

1967

First Year

2026

Last Year

2002

Peak Year

#2450

Peak Rank

Total Count

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Mairead

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)

Scottish Gaelic
Irish

The Story of Mairead

The earliest SSA record of Mairead as a baby girl name dates back to 1967, when 6 babies received it. 2002 was its biggest year on record, with 59 newborns named Mairead — #2,605 in the national rankings. About 33% of every Mairead on record arrived during the 2000s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Mairead ranks #5,453 for baby girls with 23 births, gradually falling (-11%). All told, over 1K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1960s to the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Variants & Related Forms of Mairead

Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Mairead. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Maighread
Maisie

Names that sound like Mairead

Phonetically similar names — useful when Mairead is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Mairead

What does the name Mairead mean?

What is the origin of the name Mairead?

Mairead has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: Scottish Gaelic, Irish.

How popular is Mairead in 2026?

In 2026, Mairead ranks #5,453 among girls' names in the U.S., with 23 babies given the name that year.

When was Mairead most popular?

Mairead reached its peak popularity in 2002, ranking #2,450 that year with 59 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Mairead most popular?

Mairead has historically been most popular in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Mairead.

Is Mairead a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Mairead is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.

What names go well with Mairead?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Mairead include Karna, Devonne, Tangelia. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

What are nicknames or variants of Mairead?

Common variants and related forms of Mairead include Maighread, Maisie. These cover foreign-language equivalents, alternate spellings, and short forms.

About the name Mairead

Mairead is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1967 and has accumulated 1K births in the dataset. Mairead's peak popularity came in 2002 when it ranked #2,450. Use the chart and map above to compare Mairead's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.