Megan
A Welsh pet form of Marged, the Welsh Margaret, so “pearl.”
Popularity, 1880–2025
A Welsh pet form of Margaret that American parents adopted wholesale in the 1980s.
Megan first shows up in the national records in 1922. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 1975 to 2008. Its biggest year was 1990, when 20,259 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 11 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1985, at No. 10. In 2025 it ranked No. 887 for girls. All told, 441,169 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Meghan (96,727), Meagan (41,619), Meaghan (14,043), Meghann (3,788), Meggan (2,927), Meagen (1,182) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: Margaret
Explore Megan interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 39 | No. 2587 |
| 1930s | 47 | No. 3159 |
| 1940s | 191 | No. 1699 |
| 1950s | 1,887 | No. 515 |
| 1960s | 5,916 | No. 276 |
| 1970s | 37,355 | No. 31 |
| 1980s | 153,500 | No. 10 |
| 1990s | 160,375 | No. 10 |
| 2000s | 66,833 | No. 18 |
| 2010s | 11,493 | No. 131 |
| 2020s | 2,429 | No. 609 |
Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.