Christa Maar (* 1939), President of the Burda Academy for the Third Millennium and Board Member of the Felix Burda Foundation (awarded on July 20, 2011)
Paul Maar (* 1937), children's author (awarded on July 12, 2004)
Franz Maget (* 1953), member of the state parliament (awarded on July 12, 2004)
Wolfgang Magg , Executive Member of the President of the Bavarian District Association (awarded on June 20, 2001)
Otto Majewski (* 1943), former Deputy Chairman of the Board of Management of E.ON Energie AG (awarded on October 10, 2012)
Samuel Wallace Magill , President of the German-American Men's Club Munich e. V. (awarded on June 20, 2001)
Renate Maltry , Former Vice President of the Dt. Female Lawyers Association (awarded on July 3, 2013)
Karl Mann (1920–2010), lawyer, President of the Bavarian Supreme Audit Office
Wilhelm Mantel (1880–1961), Oberlandforstmeister (awarded on December 15, 1959)
Christine Marino , Disability Officer of the Traunstein District, Ltd. Ministerialrat a. D. (awarded on December 17, 2014)
Ludwig Markert (* 1946), President of the Diakonisches Werk Bayern (awarded on July 20, 2011)
Gerhard Markgraf (1929–2012), building contractor (awarded 1986)
Hubert Markl (1938–2015), President of the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science e. V. (awarded on June 20, 2001)
Friedrich Markmiller , architect, home, archive and museum curator (awarded on June 20, 2001)
Eberhard Martini (1935–2009), Spokesman of the Board of Management of Bayerische Hypotheken- und Wechselbank, President of the German Bankers Association (awarded on July 4, 1991)
Reinhard Marx (* 1953), Archbishop of Munich and Freising, Cardinal (awarded on December 17, 2014)
Hans-Dieter Maßberg , member of the board of the Studentenstadt München association and managing director of the Ingeborg van Calker Foundation dormitory (awarded on June 27, 2018)
Ulrike Mascher (* 1938), state chairwoman of the social association VdK Bayern e. V., President of the social association VdK Germany e. V. (awarded on July 9, 2009)
Hellmuth Matiasek (* 1931), director and artistic director (awarded in 1996)
Christa Matschl (* 1943), member of the Bavarian State Parliament (awarded on July 20, 2011)
Lothar Matthäus (* 1961), honorary captain of the German national soccer team (awarded on June 20, 2001)
Ferdinand Mauler (1914–1982), member of the state parliament (awarded on June 9, 1969)
Valentin Mayer , publisher (awarded on December 15, 1959)
Herbert Mayr , former Deputy President of the District Assembly of Upper Bavaria, Chairman of the Celtic-Roman Circle of Friends of Manching (awarded on July 9, 2009)
Heinz Mehrlich (* 1942), member of the state parliament (awarded on July 17, 2003)
Michael Meisenberg (* 1944), President of the Bamberg Higher Regional Court (awarded on July 11, 2007)
Johannes Friedrich Meister (1926–2014), senior church councilor, rector of the Neuendettelsau Diakonissenanstalt and president of the Bavarian Diakonie
Otto Meitinger (1927–2017), architect and preservationist, President of the Technical University of Munich (1987–1995)
Georg Meixner (1887–1960), cathedral chapter, prelate and member of the Bavarian state parliament (awarded on June 20, 1958)
Sunnyi Melles (* 1958), actress (awarded July 12, 2004)
Ludwig Mellinger (1900–1977), Chairman of the Bayer Supervisory Board. Vereinsbank (awarded on October 25, 1960)
Linus Memmel (1914-2004), member of the Bundestag (awarded on June 5, 1968)
Bruno Merk (1922–2013), politician, Bavarian Minister of the Interior (awarded in 1965)
Marion Merklein (* 1973), professor at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (awarded on June 27, 2018)
Franz R. Miller (1926–2012), choirmaster and composer (awarded on July 4, 1991)
Marek Mintál (* 1977), soccer coach, former Slovak national player and player at 1. FC Nürnberg
Verena von Mitschke-Collande , owner of Giesecke & Devrient GmbH, chairwoman of the Giesecke & Devrient Foundation (awarded on July 20, 2011)
Karl Mitterdorfer (1920–2017), State Commander of the South Tyrolean Schützenbund, President of the South Tyrolean Cultural Institute, Member of the Italian Parliament, Italian Senator
Sigisbert Mitterer (1891–1968), Abbot of the Benedictine Abbey of Schäftlarn (awarded on December 15, 1959)