Girl's name
Mairéad
“ma-RAYD”
the Irish form of Margaret, Greek for 'pearl'
The story behind the name
Its short form, Peig, belongs to Peig Sayers of the Great Blasket, whose dictated autobiography became, for better and worse, the book that generations of Irish schoolchildren associated with the language.
Where the name belongs
Meanings follow Ó Corráin & Maguire's Irish Names and Woulfe; pronunciations give the commonest Irish-English form. Know this name better — a dialect pronunciation, a family tradition? Tell us. · All Irish names A–Z