Remember when I posted about whether or not the name Pearl is Marian? I said, “I couldn’t find any title/appellation referring to Our Lady that included “pearl” anywhere (if any of you can prove me wrong, I’d be beyond delighted!).”
I’ve been proven wrong! And I’m as beyond delighted as I could possibly be! A reader noted in a recent email to me, “I think pearls have been associated with the Virgin Mary — they’re used in art work of the Madonna to symbolize her purity” (thanks Laura!), so I looked it up and lo — she’s right!
“Pearls, Unicorns, and Lilies: Symbols of Feminine Purity in the Renaissance” discussed this explicitly, with lots of good sources:
“The pearl was imbued with many of its implications in the context of paintings of the Madonna. Through representations of the Virgin Mary pearls came to be associated with faith and chastity. The pearls used to adorn the Virgin were not necessarily the pearls one would see in everyday life. These were larger, perfectly round, and flawlessly white with a beautiful luster, while normal pearls may have irregular shapes and lack the Virgin pearls’ snow-white sheen. The perfection of the pearls served to mirror the Christian perfection of the Virgin Mary.[4]
“Mary’s virginity is one of her most frequently discussed attributes. Her purity was highly contested, and supposedly confirmed by Pope Pius IX in a declaration of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception in 1854. Even Mary’s own conception was highly debated, in regards to whether she was immaculately conceived by Saint Anne and Saint Joachim.[5] In short, Mary’s virginity and purity are her main attributes, and the items used to adorn her serve to further this message.”
Do you know what this means? If Pearl can be considered a Marian name, then Margaret can as well, since Margaret comes from margarita, the Latin word for pearl! That same post quoted above connects Mary and Margaret as well:
“In addition to the Virgin Mary, one saint in particular became associated with pearls. Saint Margaret—whose name is markedly similar to the Latin word for pearl,margarita—was known for her purity and chastity, as well as for being the saint invoked most frequently during childbirth … It is not a coincidence that the chaste saint is named for a pearl … Jacobus de Voragine described Saint Margaret as being “named after a highly refined white stone known as margarita, small and filled with virtues. Thus the blessed Margaret was white due to virginity”.[9]“
I mean, I suppose it seems somewhat of a stretch to suggest Pearl and Margaret could be considered Marian names, but I don’t know … if the intention is there — the intention to name a little girl after Mary and focusing on her purity as represented by pearls, which is also translated as Margaret — it doesn’t really seem that much different from naming a little girl after Mary and focusing on her purity as represented by the name Virginia, or Lily, or Rose.
What do you all think? Do you agree that Pearl and Margaret/Marguerite/Margarita/Mairead can be considered Marian, in light of this info about pearls?
Sancta Nomina 
Pearl seems like a great Marian name option, but once Margaret is considered, the options become endless! What do you think of Margaret nicknames-as-standalones being considered Marian – Megan, Daisy, Maisy, Greta, etc?
LikeLike
I would think yes! I personally think intention trumps most everything else about a name, so if Daisy is given for the intention of honoring Mary, because of its connection to Margaret–>Pearl–>Mary … I don’t see why that can’t be Marian!
LikeLike
Along the same train of thought of intention being the most important concern — if Daisy is bestowed because of non-Marian reasons (because it’s pretty, or because it’s a form of Margaret [totally separated from any thought about Our Lady]), then I wouldn’t call it a Marian name …
LikeLike
Yes, I agree! Intent is everything in this case. If someone is willing to think through all of that, I am happy to credit anything to the name!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The idea of Margaret being a Marian name based on the meaning is very similar to something I’ve been considering. I feel strongly about naming a future daughter after Mary. My husband would like to name the next baby Lucy. Since Lucy means light, it has crossed my mind to compromise and use Lucy after St. Lucy and Our Lady of Light. Seems to make sense, but not sure if it “feels” enough like an honor name to me.
LikeLike
I know what you mean! I was thinking last night about Daisy, and how I’d used that name specifically in my comment about Margaret nicknames being able to be considered Marian … but I don’t know! Daisy feels too far from “pearl,” but Lucy=light=Our Lady of Light is closer … also, I’ve often thought the visionaries’ names could be Marian — so maybe Lucy could be for Lucia of Fatima? Or an explicitly Marian name in the middle would help you feel like your bases were covered?
LikeLike
Also, if you did bestow Lucy with this mindset — wanting it to count as a Marian name — then don’t you think that, every time you think of how Lucy got her name, you’d think of Mary? And when you told her how she got her name, you’d tell her you intended for her to be named for Mary? Which is pretty great and Marian!
LikeLike
Loving Irish history (and everything Irish) as I do, I remember reading in The Story of the Irish Race, by Seumas (yes, the u and the a are in the right spots!) MacManus of Donegal, that one of the titles given to St. Brigit is “Mary of the Gael”, with obvious reference to Our Blessed Mother Mary. Amy Steedman in her book, Our Island Saints, refers to St. Brigit as the Pearl of Ireland…strikes me as close connection there for Pearl being “Marian.”
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ooh I love it irishnannie!
LikeLike
Ohh I love this! Then Rita is Marian as well, since it is Greek for pearl as well as derived from Margarita!
LikeLiked by 1 person
[…] one needs to shy away because of trendiness! Just that it’s losing its old lady image), and I wrote a while ago about how it can be Marian, so I love it for this family! Lucia Rose and Cecilia Pearl. Really […]
LikeLike
[…] nicked Daisy being able to claim St. Margaret and Our Lady as patrons!! (I’ve already made a Marian connection with the name Pearl, which is what Margaret means, and the Irish Margaret — Mairead — is so similar to the […]
LikeLike
[…] can both have great faith connections—I spotlighted Ruby here and Pearl here with a follow up here. I like them each on their own, and I *might* even like them as names for twin sisters, but […]
LikeLike
I call my Lady,
The Pearl of Perfection
LikeLiked by 1 person