Names beginning with M

Macrina

Long-lived (sister of Basil and Gregory)

Greek/Latin

Madhubala

Honey-girl (Bollywood's Venus, Mughal-e-Azam)

Sanskrit/Hindi

Maelys

Chief, princess (Breton)

French/Breton

Maeva

Welcome

Tahitian/French

Magali

Provençal Margaret (Mistral's heroine)

Provençal/Occitan

Magda

Of Magdala (German/Polish form of Magdalene)

Hebrew/German

Magdalene

Of Magdala (Mary Magdalene, apostle to the apostles)

Hebrew/Greek

Mahal

Palace (Mumtaz Mahal - Taj Mahal namesake)

Persian/Arabic

Maharani

Great queen

Sanskrit/Hindi

Mahira

Skilled / expert (Mahira Khan Pakistani actress)

Arabic/Urdu

Mahtab

Moonlight

Persian/Urdu

Mai

Apricot blossom; dance

Vietnamese/Japanese

Maija

May, Maria (Latvian)

Latvian/Finnish

Makeda

Queen of Sheba (Ethiopian)

Amharic/Ethiopian

Mali

Jasmine, flower; Mary

Lao/Thai/Welsh

Malka

Queen

Hebrew/Yiddish

Mamie

Beloved (Mamie Eisenhower; Mamie Till; Mamie Smith)

English/Hebrew

Mandy

Worthy of love (Mandy Moore, This Is Us; Barry Manilow's Mandy)

English/Latin

Manini

Proud / dignified (Sanskrit heritage)

Hindi/Sanskrit

Manjari

Flower bud, blossom

Sanskrit/Bengali

Manleen

Absorbed in heart

Punjabi/Sikh

Maral

Red deer (Persian-Turkic)

Persian/Turkic

Margarita

Pearl (the classic cocktail + Saint Margarita)

Spanish/Greek

Margo

Pearl (Margo Martindale, three-time Emmy winner)

French/Greek

Margrethe

Pearl (Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, 52-year reign)

Danish/Greek

Mariamne

Hasmonean queen (Herod's beloved wife)

Greek/Hebrew

Marianne

Mary + Anne (national symbol of France; Marianne Moore)

French/Hebrew

Marie

Beloved (Marie Curie, only person to win Nobels in two sciences)

French/Hebrew

Mariel

Bitter sea (Mariel Hemingway, Manhattan Oscar nominee)

English/Hebrew

Marikit

Beautiful (Tagalog)

Filipino/Tagalog

Marion

Beloved (Marion Cotillard, Best Actress Oscar 2007)

French/Hebrew

Mariska

Beloved (Mariska Hargitay, Olivia Benson on SVU for 25+ years)

Hungarian/Hebrew

Marjorie

Pearl (Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Everglades activist; Marjorie Rawlings)

English/Greek

Marlena

Bitter sea + Magdalene (Marlena Evans, Days of Our Lives)

German/Hebrew

Marnie

Beloved (Hitchcock's Marnie; Girls' Marnie Michaels)

Hebrew/English

Marsha

Warlike (Marsha P. Johnson, Stonewall trans activist)

English/Latin

Marta

Lady (Marta Vieira da Silva, six-time FIFA Best Women's Player)

Spanish/Portuguese/Italian/Aramaic

Maude

Mighty in battle (Maud Gonne, Maude Adams)

French/Germanic

Maureen

Beloved (Maureen O'Hara; Maureen Dowd)

Irish/Hebrew

Maverick

Independent / unbranded (Top Gun + the original maverick)

English/Spanish

Mawar

Rose

Indonesian/Malay

Mayumi

Gentle, modest

Filipino/Japanese

Małgorzata

Pearl (Polish Margaret)

Polish/Greek

McCoy

Son of Aodh (real McCoy; Star Trek's Bones McCoy)

Scottish/Irish

Mealea

Flower garland (Khmer)

Khmer/Cambodian

Meena

Fish (Bollywood's Tragedy Queen, Meena Kumari)

Sanskrit/Hindi

Meenakshi

Fish-eyed (iconic South Indian goddess + temple)

Sanskrit/Tamil

Mehar

Mercy / grace (Punjabi Sikh heritage)

Punjabi/Sanskrit

Mehek

Fragrance, scent

Hindi/Urdu

Mehreen

Sun-like / iconic Pakistani filmmaker

Urdu/Persian

Mekdes

Sanctuary (Ethiopian)

Ethiopian/Ge'ez

Melba

Of Melbourne (Dame Nellie Melba, opera; Peach Melba)

Australian/English

Melek

Angel

Turkish/Arabic

Melinda

Sweet (Melinda French Gates, Gates Foundation co-chair)

English/Greek

Memory

Remembrance (Cats musical's iconic song)

Latin/English

Memphis

Established and beautiful (the Tennessee city + ancient Egypt)

Greek/Egyptian

Mencía

Medieval Castilian (Lopez de Padilla)

Basque/Spanish

Mentewab

Ethiopian queen regent (rebuilt Gondar)

Ethiopian/Amharic

Merida

One who has earned a place (Pixar's first lead princess)

Spanish/Latin

Merit

Worthy / beloved (Merit Beauty + ancient Egyptian queen)

Latin/Egyptian

Merritt

Boundary gate / merit (Merritt Wever, 2x Emmy actress)

English/Latin

Meryl

Iconic Meryl Streep - record 21 Oscar noms + 3 wins

Welsh/English

Mette

Pearl (Mette Frederiksen, Danish PM; Mette-Marit Crown Princess)

Danish/Greek

Mihrimah

Sun + moon (iconic Ottoman princess)

Turkish/Persian

Mika

Beautiful fragrance (Mika Brzezinski, Morning Joe co-host)

Japanese/Finnish/Hebrew

Miley

Smiley (Miley Cyrus, Grammy + Hannah Montana)

American/English

Millicent

Strong worker (Millicent Fawcett, suffragist)

English/Germanic

Mimi

Beloved (Mimi in La Bohème + Mimi Rogers actress)

French/Latin

Min

Clever, gentle, jade

Korean/Chinese

Minal

Minal Khan - Pakistani actress + Aiman's twin sister

Sanskrit/Urdu

Mindy

Honey (Mindy Kaling, first South Asian woman to write & star in her own TV show)

English/Greek

Minnie

Love / will-helmet (Minnie Riperton; Minnie Pearl; Minnie Mouse)

English/German

Mirabai

Sea / wonder (the 16th-century Krishna mystic + Mirabai Chanu Olympic silver)

Sanskrit/Rajasthani

Mirra

Peace / myrrh (Mirra Andreeva tennis prodigy; Mirra Alfassa)

Slavic/Latin

Mishti

Sweet

Bengali/Sanskrit

Missy

Beloved (Missy Elliott; Missy Franklin Olympic gold)

English/Hebrew

Mitzi

Beloved (Mitzi Gaynor, South Pacific)

German/Hebrew

Moderata

Renaissance Venetian feminist writer (Moderata Fonte)

Italian/Latin

Mona

My lady (the Mona Lisa; Mona Eltahawy, feminist activist)

Italian/Irish/Arabic

Monique

Advisor (Mo'Nique, Precious Oscar)

French/Greek

Monroe

Mouth of the river Rotha (Mariah Carey's daughter; Marilyn Monroe surname)

Scottish/Gaelic

Monáe

Counselor (Janelle Monáe, 8-time Grammy nominee)

American/French

Morena

Dark-haired (Morena Baccarin Brazilian-American)

Italian/Spanish

Mrinalini

Lotus stalk (Tagore's wife)

Sanskrit/Bengali

Mukda

Pearl

Thai/Sanskrit

Mumtaz

Distinguished (Taj Mahal's Mumtaz)

Arabic/Persian

Munia

Medieval Basque-Spanish queen

Basque/Spanish

Muriel

Bright sea (Dame Muriel Spark, Prime of Miss Jean Brodie)

Irish/Scottish Gaelic

Mutya

Pearl, muse, treasure

Filipino/Tagalog