Girl names that start with M range from favorites like Mia, Maya, Margaret and Maeve to rare picks like Meliora, Mélisande and Meinir, and this list of 125 gives a checked origin and meaning for every one.
M is a warm, easy letter for naming a daughter. It holds one name in the current U.S. top 10 (Mia, at No. 6 for babies born in 2025, according to the Social Security Administration), plus queens, saints, flower names and names from languages around the world.
We grouped the M girl names by style: classic, unique, short, long, vintage, nature, mythology, biblical, international and gender neutral. Then come pronunciation tips for the trickier names, nicknames, sibling and middle name ideas, and a quick initials check.
Key Takeaways
- Mia is the only M name in the SSA top 10 for girls born in 2025, at No. 6.
- Familiar M names for girls include Maya, Madeline, Margaret, Mila, Molly, Maeve, Matilda and Mabel.
- Rare options include Meliora, Mélisande, Merope, Meinir, Mererid and Mairwen.
- Several M names have plain or uncertain meanings (Mary’s is unknown), so read the real story before you decide.
- Test your favorite with the initials, say it out loud, spelling and nickname checks before you decide.
Table of Contents
Girl Names That Start With M at a Glance
Quick Answer
Every origin and meaning on this page was checked against the name’s own entry on Behind the Name in October 2026. Where the reference calls a meaning unknown, uncertain or only possible, we say so.
Start with the best known baby girl names that start with M. For a wider search, browse our main list of baby girl names, or compare these with girl names that start with A, girl names that start with C and girl names that start with J.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Mia | Swedish, Danish, Dutch, German, Italian, English and more | Pet form of Maria; it also looks like the Italian word for “mine” |
| Maya | Hindi, Marathi, Nepali; Hinduism and Buddhism | From Sanskrit: “illusion, magic”; in Buddhist tradition, the name of the Buddha’s mother |
| Madeline | English | English form of Madeleine, a name tied to the place name Magdala; the heroine of Ludwig Bemelmans’ picture books (from 1939) |
| Margaret | English | From Latin Margarita, from Greek margarites: “pearl” |
| Mary | English, biblical | English form of Maria, from Hebrew Miryam; the meaning is uncertain (ideas include “sea of bitterness”, “rebelliousness” and “wished for child”) |
| Mila | Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian and more | From the Slavic element milu: “gracious, dear”; it began as a short form of longer names |
| Melody | English | From the English word, from Greek melos (“song”) and aeido (“to sing”) |
| Molly | English | Medieval pet form of Mary, now used on its own |
| Maria | Italian, Portuguese, German, Greek, Polish, English and many more | Latin form of the Greek Maria, from the Hebrew name Miriam |
| Melanie | English, German, Dutch | French form of the Latin name Melania, from Greek melaina: “black, dark” |
| Megan | Welsh, English | Welsh pet form of Margaret, usually given on its own |
| Michelle | French, English, Dutch | French feminine form of Michel (Michael: “who is like God?” in Hebrew) |
| Maeve | Irish, English; Irish mythology | Anglicized form of Medb: “intoxicating”; a warrior queen of Connacht in Irish legend |
| Margot | French, German | French short form of Marguerite |
| Matilda | English, Swedish, Finnish, Slovak, Slovene | From the Germanic Mahthilt: “strength in battle” |
| Millie | English | Pet form of Mildred, Millicent and other names with the same sound |
| Mabel | English | Medieval form of the Latin name Amabilis; revived in the 19th century |
| Myla | English (modern) | Possibly a feminine form of Miles, influenced by similar names such as Kyla |
| Mariana | Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, Czech and more | Feminine form of the Roman name Marianus; later sometimes read as Maria plus Ana |
| Mariah | English | Variant of Maria |
| Michaela | German, Swedish, English, Czech, Greek and more | Feminine form of Michael (“who is like God?”) |
| Monica | English, Italian, Romanian, Dutch, Scandinavian; Late Roman | Meaning unknown, possibly of Berber or Phoenician origin; Saint Monica was the mother of Saint Augustine |
| Maisie | Scottish, English | Scottish pet form of Mairead, a form of Margaret |
| Mallory | English (modern) | From an English surname, from Old French maleure: “unfortunate” |
A short note on the meanings: a few of the most loved M names have plain or even gloomy roots. Mallory traces back to an Old French word for “unfortunate”, Melanie to a Greek word for “dark”, and Mary’s original meaning is simply not known. We print them as the reference gives them, because a name’s meaning is only one reason to choose it, and parents deserve the real story.
It also helps to know that a handful of old names stand behind a large share of this letter. If you like one member of a family, look at the others:
- The Mary family: Mary, Maria, Miriam, Mariam, Maryam, Meryem, Mariah, Malia and Mhairi are all forms of the same Hebrew name, and Molly, Mia, Mimi, Mamie, Mariel and Maike began as pet forms.
- The Margaret family: Margaret, Marguerite, Mared and Mererid go back to the Latin word for pearl, and Margot, Meg, Megan, Maisie and Mamie began as its short forms.
- The Magdalene family: Magdalene, Magdalena, Madeline and Malin all come from Magdala, the hometown of Mary Magdalene, and Marlene blends Maria with Magdalene.
- The Matilda family: Matilda, Mathilde and Maude share the Germanic meaning “strength in battle”.
Unique and Rare Girl Names That Start With M
Looking for unique girl names that start with M? These are uncommon in the United States, yet most are easy to say and spell. Meliora is the most unusual, a rare name built from the Latin word for “better”.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Meliora | Various (rare) | From Latin melior: “better” |
| Melina | English, Greek | An elaboration of Mel, perhaps from names such as Melissa or from Greek meli, “honey” |
| Marnie | English | Possibly a pet form of Marina; the title of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1964 film |
| Mariel | Spanish (Latin American, Philippines), English (American) | Pet form of Maria |
| Mattea | Italian | Italian feminine form of Matthew (“gift of Yahweh” in Hebrew) |
| Mahalia | English | Variant of Mahala |
| Myra | English | Coined by the 17th-century poet Fulke Greville, perhaps from Latin myrra, “myrrh”, or as a rearrangement of Mary |
| Marissa | English, Dutch | Variant of Marisa |
For more rare picks, the mythology, Welsh and nature tables below are the places to look: Merope, Metis, Meinir, Mererid, Mairwen and Mahina are all far from the charts. To see where a name stands, use the Popularity of a Name search on the Social Security Administration (SSA) baby names page. The SSA leaves out names with fewer than 5 occurrences to protect privacy, so the very rarest names will not appear at all. More ideas: our unique girl names guide.
Short M Names for Girls (3 to 4 Letters)
Short M names are easy to spell over the phone and pair well with a long surname or a long middle name. Many began as pet forms of Mary, Maria and Margaret, and three come from Japanese, Vietnamese and Chinese.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Mae | English | Variant of May |
| Meg | English | Medieval pet form of Margaret; now also a short form of Megan |
| Mimi | English | Pet form of Maria and other names beginning with M |
| Mina | English, Dutch | Short form of Wilhelmina and other names ending in mina; a character in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) |
| Mira | Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada | From Sanskrit mira: “sea, ocean”; a 16th-century princess known for her devotion to Krishna |
| Maja | German, Polish, Croatian, Slovene, Danish, Swedish and more | Form of Maia |
| Mio | Japanese | Mi (“beautiful”) plus o (“cherry blossom” or “thread”), or a single character meaning “waterway, channel” |
| Mai | Vietnamese | From Sino-Vietnamese mai: “plum, apricot” (the Prunus mume tree) |
| Mei | Chinese | From mei, “beautiful”, or mei, the Chinese plum, among other characters |
Mai and Mei sound alike and both point to the same flowering plum tree, Prunus mume, but they belong to two languages: Mai is Vietnamese and Mei is Chinese, where it can also mean “beautiful”. More short options sit in other tables on this page: Mia, Mila, Maya, Myla, Myra, Mara, Maia, Mae, Malak and Minh.
Long, Elegant and Vintage M Names
Longer M names give you a formal option plus built-in nicknames. Several are the Latin or French forms of names you already know.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Magdalena | Polish, German, Spanish, Czech, Scandinavian, English and more | Latinate form of Magdalene (“of Magdala”) |
| Marguerite | French | French form of Margaret; also the French word for the daisy |
| Millicent | English | From the Gothic name Amalaswintha, from elements meaning roughly “unceasing, vigorous, brave” and “strong” |
| Melinda | English, Hungarian | Mel (from names such as Melanie or Melissa) plus the ending inda; dates from the 18th century, perhaps modeled on Belinda |
| Marcella | Italian, German, Ancient Roman | Feminine form of Marcellus |
Marguerite does double duty: it is the French form of Margaret and also the French word for the daisy. Millicent has a long road behind it, from a Gothic queen’s name through the Norman forms Melisent and Melisende.
These vintage M names will feel familiar from great-grandparents’ generations.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Mildred | English | From Old English Mildthryth: milde (“gentle”) plus thryth (“strength”); Saint Mildred was a 7th-century abbess |
| Marjorie | English | Medieval variant of Margery, influenced by the herb marjoram; revived in the late 19th century |
| Maude | English, French | Variant of Maud, the medieval English form of Matilda |
| Mamie | English | Pet form of Mary or Margaret |
| Minnie | English | Pet form of Wilhelmina |
| Maxine | English | Feminine elaboration of Max; common only since the early 20th century |
| Muriel | English, French, Irish, Scottish | Anglicized form of Irish Muirgel and Scottish Muireall; Breton settlers brought a form of it to medieval England |
| Marlene | German, English, Portuguese | A blend of Maria and Magdalene; made famous by the actress Marlene Dietrich |
| Moira | Irish, Scottish, English | Anglicized form of Irish Maire; it is also spelled like the Greek word for “fate, destiny” |
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Nature M Names: Flowers, Trees, Sea and Sky
Many pretty girl names that start with M come straight from the natural world, from garden flowers to the open ocean.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Magnolia | English | The flowering tree, named for the French botanist Pierre Magnol |
| Marigold | English (modern) | The flower, whose name combines Mary and the English word gold |
| Meadow | English (modern) | The English word, from Old English maedwe |
| Myrtle | English | The evergreen shrub, from Greek myrtos; first used as a name in the 19th century |
| Maple | English | The maple tree, from Old English mapul; a girl in a 1923 poem by Robert Frost |
| Misty | English | The English word misty, from Old English |
| Mahina | Hawaiian, Maori | “Moon, month” |
| Midori | Japanese | “Green”; other characters with the same sound are possible |
| Marina | Italian, Spanish, Russian, Greek, English and many more | Feminine form of Marinus, a Roman name that may come from Latin for “of the sea” |
| Melissa | English, Dutch; Greek mythology | “Bee” in Greek; in one tradition, a nymph who helped care for the infant Zeus |
| Mavis | English | From an old word for the song thrush (Old French mauvis); first used as a name by the novelist Marie Corelli in 1895 |
A few other names on this page carry nature meanings even though they do not look like it. Margaret means pearl, Mira means sea or ocean in Sanskrit, Maayan means spring of water in Hebrew, Moana means ocean in several Polynesian languages, and Merle means blackbird. Marisol, by one explanation the reference mentions, means sea and sun.
Mythology, Literature and Biblical M Names
Greek and Roman myth supply most of these: two of the Pleiades, a Muse, a Titan and the Roman goddess of wisdom. Medieval legend adds Melusine, whose meaning the reference calls unknown, and the stage adds Mélisande.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Maia | Greek and Roman mythology; Portuguese, Georgian | Possibly “good mother” or “foster mother” in Greek; the eldest of the Pleiades and mother of Hermes |
| Merope | Greek mythology | Greek meros (“share, part”) plus ops (“face, eye”); one of the seven Pleiades |
| Metis | Greek mythology | “Wisdom, skill, cunning” in Greek; a Titan and the mother of Athena |
| Melpomene | Greek mythology | From Greek melpo: “to sing, to celebrate with song”; the Muse of tragedy |
| Minerva | Roman mythology; English, Spanish | Possibly from a Latin word for “intellect”, or of Etruscan origin; the Roman goddess of wisdom and war |
| Melusine | European folklore | Meaning unknown; a water fairy of medieval legend who turned into a serpent from the waist down each Saturday |
| Mélisande | French (rare); literature | French form of Millicent; the heroine of Maurice Maeterlinck’s play Pelléas et Mélisande (1893), later an opera by Debussy |
Maeve from the first table belongs here too: in Irish legend Medb, the older form of the name, was a warrior queen of Connacht. Madeline is a literary favorite, thanks to the picture books, and Myra was invented by a poet.
Biblical girl names that start with M are led by Mary and Miriam, which are forms of the same name. The table below adds women from both testaments. Mara is honest about its meaning: it means bitterness, and Naomi takes it as a name during a time of grief in the Book of Ruth.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Miriam | Hebrew, English, German, Italian and more; biblical | Form of Mary; the elder sister of Moses and Aaron, who watched over the infant Moses |
| Martha | English, German, Dutch, Spanish, Greek and more; biblical | From Aramaic: “the lady, the mistress”; the sister of Lazarus in the New Testament |
| Michal | Hebrew; biblical | May come from a Hebrew word for a stream or brook; the daughter of King Saul and wife of David |
| Milcah | Biblical | From Hebrew malka: “queen”; the wife of Nahor in the Old Testament |
| Mara | Italian, Spanish, Portuguese; biblical | Hebrew for bitterness; the name Naomi takes for herself in the Book of Ruth |
| Magdalene | German, English; biblical | A title meaning “of Magdala”, a village on the Sea of Galilee; borne by Mary Magdalene |
| Mariam | Georgian, Armenian, Arabic, Malay; Biblical Greek | The form of Maria used in the Greek Old Testament |
Maryam, in the international table below, is the form of the name used in the Quran.
International M Names by Language
Origins below use the reference’s own usage labels. Several Spanish names here come from titles of the Virgin Mary, which is why Spanish gives us Mercedes, Milagros and Montserrat. Welsh is especially rich in M names, from Mared to Meinir.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Mercedes | Spanish | “Mercies”, from the Marian title Our Lady of Mercies; from Latin merces, “wages, reward” |
| Marisol | Spanish | Short form of María Soledad; some link it to mar y sol, “sea and sun” |
| Milagros | Spanish | “Miracles”, from the title Our Lady of Miracles |
| Montserrat | Catalan, Spanish | From a mountain near Barcelona, Latin mons serratus: “jagged mountain” |
| Manuela | Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, French, Romanian | Feminine form of Manuel |
| Marta | Spanish, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, German and more | Form of Martha |
| Martina | German, Italian, Spanish, Czech, English and more | Feminine form of the Latin Martinus, the source of Martin; Saint Martina is a patron saint of Rome |
| Mirella | Italian | Italian form of Mireille |
| Mathilde | French, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish | Form of Matilda |
| Maëlys | French | Feminine form of Maël, possibly influenced by the spelling Mailys |
| Mélanie | French | French form of Melanie |
| Marine | French, Armenian, Georgian | French, Armenian and Georgian form of Marina |
| Maura | Irish, English | English form of Irish Maire, sometimes linked to Irish mor, “great”; borne by a 5th-century Irish martyr |
| Mhairi | Scottish | Anglicized form of a Mhàiri, the vocative (direct address) form of Màiri, the Gaelic Mary |
| Mared | Welsh | Welsh form of Margaret |
| Mererid | Welsh | “Pearl, gem” in Welsh, from Latin margarita |
| Mairwen | Welsh | Mair (Mary) plus Welsh gwen, “white, blessed”; the reference marks the etymology as uncertain |
| Meinir | Welsh | “Tall and slender, beautiful maiden”, from main (“slender”) and hir (“tall”) |
| Morwen | Cornish, Welsh | Variant of Morwenna |
| Maike | Frisian, German | Frisian pet form of Maria |
| Malin | Swedish, Norwegian | Swedish and Norwegian short form of Magdalene |
| Milena | Serbian, Czech, Polish, Russian, Italian and more | Feminine form of Milan; in Italy it can also be read as Maria plus Elena |
Two of these names hold a surprise for English readers. Behind the Name gives Mhairi, a Scottish name, with a V sound at the start, not an M. Maëlys is printed with three syllables, so the a and the e are said separately.
The names below come from Arabic, Turkish, Swahili, Sanskrit, Hawaiian and Japanese. For Japanese names, the meaning depends on the characters a family chooses, so treat each meaning as one common reading.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Maryam | Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Indonesian and more; Quranic | Arabic form of Miryam (Mary); in Iran it is also the name of the tuberose flower |
| Meryem | Turkish, Uyghur | Turkish and Uyghur form of Miriam |
| Melek | Turkish | “Angel” in Turkish, ultimately of Arabic origin |
| Malaika | Swahili | “Angel”, from the Arabic root malak |
| Madhuri | Marathi, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada | “Sweetness” in Sanskrit, from madhu, “honey, sweet” |
| Meera | Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada | Another transcription of Mira: “sea, ocean” in Sanskrit |
| Malia | Hawaiian, English (modern), German (modern) | Hawaiian form of Maria |
| Miyu | Japanese | Mi (“beautiful” or “fruit, truth”) plus yu (“gentleness, excellence”, “tie, bind” or “evening”), depending on the characters |
Print accents exactly as the name is spelled (Maëlys, Mélanie, Mélisande, María Soledad). U.S. paperwork does not always carry accents, so decide ahead of time whether you are comfortable seeing the name without them. If a name comes from a culture outside your own family, learn how it is said and used before you commit.
Gender Neutral M Names
Behind the Name lists each of these as both feminine and masculine. Many began as Scottish, Irish or English surnames, and several come from languages where the meaning, not the gender, is what counts. You will find more in our gender neutral names guide.
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Madison | English | From an English surname: “son of Matthew” or “son of Maud”; rare for girls before the 1984 film Splash |
| Mackenzie | English | From a Scottish surname, an Anglicized form of Gaelic MacCoinnich; more often masculine in the UK |
| Morgan | Welsh, English, French | From Old Welsh Morcant, possibly mor (“sea”) plus cant (“circle”); more common for American girls than boys since the 1980s |
| Marley | English (modern) | From an English surname and place name, probably “pleasant wood”, “boundary wood” or “marten wood” |
| Marlowe | English (modern) | From a surname taken from an Old English place name: “remnants of a lake” |
| Monroe | English | From a Scottish surname meaning “mouth of the Roe”, a river in Northern Ireland |
| Murphy | English | From the Irish surname O Murchadha, from the given name Murchadh |
| Merritt | English | From an English surname and place name: “boundary gate” in Old English |
| McKinley | English | From a Scottish surname, an Anglicized form of Mac Fhionnlaigh |
| Merle | English, Estonian | “Blackbird”, from the English word or the French surname (Latin merula) |
| Moana | Maori, Hawaiian, Tahitian, Samoan, Tongan | “Ocean, wide expanse of water, deep sea” |
| Maayan | Hebrew | “Spring of water” |
| Malak | Arabic | “Angel” |
| Makena | Kikuyu | “Happy one” |
| Minh | Vietnamese | From Sino-Vietnamese minh: “bright” |
Madison is the classic example of a surname crossing over: the reference says it was rarely used for girls until the 1984 film Splash, and it then rose quickly. Mackenzie and McKinley also lean feminine in the United States today, while the reference notes Mackenzie is more often a boy’s name in the UK.
Why M Names Are Loved: Sounds and Nicknames
A few plain reasons parents keep coming back to names that start with M:
- Mia gives the letter a current top 10 favorite, and Margaret, Mary and Matilda give it centuries of history.
- M works across many languages, from Spanish and Welsh to Hebrew, Arabic, Sanskrit, Hawaiian and Japanese.
- Long M names shorten neatly, and many short M names began as nicknames themselves.
M itself is almost always said the same way, but the rest of the name is where people trip. This table shows a dozen M names that are often misread, using the pronunciation printed on each name’s Behind the Name entry (in the International Phonetic Alphabet).
| Name | Pronunciation (IPA) | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| Maeve | /ˈmeɪv/ (English) | Rhymes with brave |
| Mhairi | /ˈvɑː.ɹi/ (English) | Starts with a V sound |
| Meinir | /ˈmɛi̯.nɪr/ (Welsh) | Two syllables, stress on the first |
| Mairwen | /ˈmai̯r.wɛn/ (Welsh) | Two syllables, stress on the first |
| Maëlys | /ma.e.lis/ (French) | Three syllables: the diaeresis splits a and e |
| Mathilde | /ma.tild/ (French) | Two syllables in French |
| Montserrat | /mun.sə.ˈrat/ (Catalan) | Stress on the last syllable |
| Milagros | /mi.ˈla.ɣɾos/ (Spanish) | Stress on the second syllable |
| Mercedes | /məɹ.ˈseɪ.diz/ (American English) | Stress on the second syllable |
| Melpomene | /mɛl.ˈpɑm.ə.ˌni/ (American English) | Four syllables, ending in a long E |
| Michal | /mi.ˈχal/ (Hebrew) | A throaty kh sound, stress on the second syllable |
| Mio | /mi.o̞/ (Japanese) | Two short syllables |
If relatives will meet the name on a birth announcement before they hear it, a short note on how it is said saves everyone some awkwardness. The nickname ideas below are each listed as a short form or pet form on Behind the Name.
| Full name | Nickname ideas |
|---|---|
| Margaret | Meg, Megan (Welsh), Maisie (Scottish, through Mairead), Mamie |
| Marguerite | Margot (French) |
| Mary | Molly, Mamie |
| Maria | Mia, Mimi, Mariel, Maike (Frisian) |
| Megan | Meg |
| Mildred, Millicent | Millie |
| Magdalene | Malin (Swedish and Norwegian) |
| Marina | Marnie (possibly, per the reference) |
| Matilda | Maud, Maude (the usual medieval English form) |
Sibling, Twin and Middle Name Ideas
These pairings are ideas, not rules. Sister or twin sets that share a letter work best when the names differ in length, ending or rhythm:
- Maeve and Matilda
- Mila and Margot
- Mabel and Millie
- Marigold and Magnolia
- Maya and Mira
- Mercedes and Marisol
- Mared and Meinir
- Miriam and Martha
- Mia and Madeline
- Mae and Marguerite
Avoid pairing two forms of the same name (Mary and Maria, or Margaret and Megan) unless you like the echo on purpose. Pairs from one language, such as Mared and Meinir or Mercedes and Marisol, share a style without sharing a meaning.
For a brother, look through boy names that start with C or boy names that start with K, or keep the letter with Morgan, Murphy or Monroe from the table above. Still choosing a sister’s name? Try girl names that start with S too.
For middle names, contrast helps. A one-syllable middle balances a long first name, and a longer middle gives a short first name some weight. Double M combinations have a gentle sound: Margot Mae, Mila Marguerite, Maeve Matilda, Mabel Marina or Mia Magdalena. If you would rather vary the initials, try Mae as a middle after a name with another letter, or flip it and pair Meg with a long middle such as Millicent.
The Initials Check and Other Quick Tests
Before you settle on girl names that start with M, run each finalist through four quick tests:
- Initials: write out first, middle and last initials. M.A.E. and M.I.A. both spell names on their own, which some families love. Other combinations spell words you would not choose, so swap the middle name if you spot a problem.
- Say it out loud: call the full name across a room. An M first name can blur into a surname that also starts with M or ends in an M sound, so listen for a clear break.
- Spelling: several M names have close twins: Mia and Maia, Maya and Maia, Mira and Meera, Madeline and Magdalena, Marissa and Marisa. Decide whether you mind spelling it out for years.
- Nicknames: check the table above. If you dislike the obvious short form, assume someone will use it anyway.
One more check is optional: how common the name is. Mia is No. 6 for girls born in 2025, so she is likely to share a classroom with another Mia at some point. Some parents like that and some do not. For any other name, the SSA’s Popularity of a Name search lets you look a name up by sex and range of years. Keep in mind that the SSA does not combine different spellings of similar names, so Mia and Maya are counted separately, and the same goes for Mariah and Maria.
If you are stuck between two finalists, try each one in the sentences you will say most: calling her in from the yard, introducing her to a neighbor, spelling it for a receptionist. The name that still feels easy after a few days of that is usually the one.
Related Betteroo Guides
- Girl names that start with A
- Girl names that start with S
- Baby girl names
- Unique girl names
- Flower names
- Middle names
The Bottom Line
The letter M covers nearly every style: Mia in the U.S. top 10, steady classics like Margaret, Mary and Matilda, rare finds like Meliora and Mélisande, nature names like Magnolia and Maple, and names from Spanish, Welsh, Irish, Arabic, Sanskrit, Hawaiian and Japanese. Shortlist three to five, read the real meaning (even when it is unknown or a little gloomy), test the initials and the sound, and say each one out loud for a week.
Then give yourself permission to stop looking. A name you have checked, said aloud and still love after a week is a good name.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most popular girl names that start with M?
Mia leads. It ranked No. 6 for girls born in the United States in 2025, according to the Social Security Administration, and it is the only M name in the girls’ top 10. Other familiar M names include Maya, Madeline, Margaret, Mila, Molly, Maeve, Matilda, Mabel and Melody.
What are rare girl names that start with M?
Rare M names include Meliora, from the Latin word for better, and Mélisande, the heroine of a French play. Merope and Metis come from Greek myth, and Meinir, Mererid and Mairwen are Welsh. The Social Security Administration leaves names with fewer than 5 occurrences out of its lists, so the very rarest never appear there.
What are cute or pretty M names for girls?
Taste is personal, but meaning can help. Mila comes from a Slavic word for gracious or dear, Melody from Greek words for song, Mererid means pearl or gem in Welsh, Malaika means angel in Swahili, and Madhuri means sweetness in Sanskrit. Magnolia, Marigold and Maple are popular nature picks with a soft sound.
What are short girl names that start with M?
Short M names with three or four letters include Mae, Meg, Mimi, Mina, Mira, Maja, Mio, Mai and Mei, plus Mia, Mila, Maya, Myla, Myra, Mara and Maia. Several began as pet forms: Meg is short for Margaret, Mimi for Maria and other M names, and Mina for Wilhelmina.
What are biblical girl names that start with M?
Mary and Miriam lead the list, and they are forms of the same Hebrew name. Martha was the sister of Lazarus, Michal was the daughter of King Saul, Milcah means queen, Mara is the name Naomi chose in the Book of Ruth, and Magdalene comes from Mary Magdalene’s hometown of Magdala.
What girl name starting with M means gift?
Mattea is a good fit. Behind the Name lists it as the Italian feminine form of Matthew, which comes from a Hebrew name meaning gift of Yahweh. For other meanings, Meliora means better, Maayan means spring of water, Malak and Melek mean angel, and Makena means happy one in Kikuyu.
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Related Betteroo Guides
7 Sources
- Social Security Administration. Popular Baby Names (top 10 names of 2025).
https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/index.html - Social Security Administration. Background Information for Popular Names.
https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/background.html - Behind the Name. Meaning, origin and history of the name Mary.
https://www.behindthename.com/name/mary - Behind the Name. Meaning, origin and history of the name Margaret.
https://www.behindthename.com/name/margaret - Behind the Name. Meaning, origin and history of the name Mia.
https://www.behindthename.com/name/mia - Behind the Name. Meaning, origin and history of the name Magdalene.
https://www.behindthename.com/name/magdalene - Behind the Name. Meaning, origin and history of the name Matilda.
https://www.behindthename.com/name/matilda
