Fun Facts About the Name Megan
- An established favorite: Megan held a place in the U.S. top 100 for 34 consecutive years, from 1975 through 2008.
- More than 441 thousand babies named Megan: U.S. records list 441,170 babies given the name Megan from 1880 through 2025. Even 1,104 boys received the name Megan - about 1 boy for every 399 girls.
What Does the Name Megan Mean?
Megan is a Welsh pet form of Margaret, and it inherits Margaret's meaning, "pearl." The name is built from Meg, the familiar English short form of Margaret, plus the Welsh diminutive ending -an. Margaret goes back through Latin Margarita to Greek margaritēs, "pearl," so Megan's meaning comes from that lineage rather than from a separate Welsh word. The translation is literal: the underlying sense is the gemstone, not a symbolic quality attached to it.
Megan Name History & Origins
Margaret came to Britain in the centuries after the Norman Conquest in its Old French form Marguerite, and devotion to Saint Margaret helped make it one of the most common women's names of the Middle Ages. That wide use produced a crowd of short forms, among them Meg, Maggie, and Peg. In Wales, Margaret settled in as Marged, and Welsh speakers formed affectionate diminutives from the short forms; adding -an to Meg yielded Megan. The name therefore belongs to a Welsh naming habit of creating pet names with that ending, and it was used in Wales before it became common in the wider English-speaking world.
Megan spread beyond Wales during the twentieth century and became a broadly used English-language name, particularly in the United States, Britain, and Canada. The spelling Meghan is a common variant, and Meagan and Meaghan also appear; these are respellings of the same name rather than separate derivations. Megan is distinct from Megan-like names of unrelated origin, so its meaning should not be read back onto similar-sounding names.
How Popular is the Name Megan?
Megan remained among the top 100 girl names in the U.S. from 1975 to 2008. Its highest annual birth count was in 1990, and people born that year turn 36 in 2026.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #889 | 301 | 0.0187% |
| 2024 | #761 | 369 | 0.0229% |
| 2023 | #694 | 416 | 0.0260% |
| 2022 | #731 | 399 | 0.0243% |
| 2021 | #609 | 490 | 0.0299% |
| 2020 | #640 | 453 | 0.0280% |
| 2019 | #609 | 499 | 0.0297% |
| 2018 | #549 | 565 | 0.0332% |
| 2017 | #496 | 631 | 0.0366% |
| 2016 | #432 | 750 | 0.0423% |
| 2015 | #385 | 853 | 0.0478% |
| 2014 | #306 | 1,064 | 0.0596% |
| 2013 | #255 | 1,246 | 0.0710% |
| 2012 | #199 | 1,561 | 0.0887% |
| 2011 | #164 | 1,915 | 0.1089% |
| 2010 | #131 | 2,406 | 0.1354% |
| 2009 | #105 | 3,058 | 0.1665% |
| 2008 | #100 | 3,416 | 0.1807% |
| 2007 | #78 | 4,124 | 0.2145% |
| 2006 | #60 | 4,945 | 0.2601% |
| 2005 | #41 | 5,856 | 0.3169% |
| 2004 | #36 | 6,687 | 0.3642% |
| 2003 | #30 | 7,800 | 0.4269% |
| 2002 | #22 | 9,210 | 0.5126% |
| 2001 | #20 | 10,300 | 0.5720% |
| 2000 | #18 | 11,436 | 0.6297% |
| 1999 | #15 | 12,229 | 0.6894% |
| 1998 | #13 | 13,256 | 0.7502% |
| 1997 | #11 | 14,244 | 0.8183% |
| 1996 | #12 | 14,770 | 0.8426% |
| 1995 | #13 | 15,530 | 0.8831% |
| 1994 | #10 | 16,580 | 0.9285% |
| 1993 | #11 | 16,385 | 0.9057% |
| 1992 | #10 | 17,842 | 0.9676% |
| 1991 | #11 | 19,278 | 1.0282% |
| 1990 | #11 | 20,259 | 1.0671% |
| 1989 | #11 | 19,780 | 1.0729% |
| 1988 | #12 | 18,570 | 1.0428% |
| 1987 | #12 | 17,823 | 1.0251% |
| 1986 | #11 | 18,591 | 1.0837% |
| 1985 | #10 | 20,012 | 1.1629% |
| 1984 | #11 | 16,984 | 1.0087% |
| 1983 | #21 | 14,124 | 0.8454% |
| 1982 | #34 | 9,518 | 0.5621% |
| 1981 | #33 | 8,966 | 0.5375% |
| 1980 | #30 | 9,134 | 0.5501% |
| 1979 | #31 | 8,293 | 0.5166% |
| 1978 | #41 | 5,897 | 0.3849% |
| 1977 | #54 | 5,320 | 0.3470% |
| 1976 | #62 | 4,464 | 0.3047% |
| 1975 | #69 | 4,192 | 0.2875% |
| 1974 | #105 | 2,818 | 0.1920% |
| 1973 | #141 | 2,021 | 0.1386% |
| 1972 | #180 | 1,587 | 0.1043% |
| 1971 | #199 | 1,500 | 0.0902% |
| 1970 | #246 | 1,268 | 0.0725% |
| 1969 | #276 | 1,031 | 0.0611% |
| 1968 | #309 | 813 | 0.0496% |
| 1967 | #328 | 709 | 0.0429% |
| 1966 | #354 | 655 | 0.0387% |
| 1965 | #370 | 608 | 0.0344% |
| 1964 | #433 | 512 | 0.0270% |
| 1963 | #469 | 432 | 0.0224% |
| 1962 | #491 | 391 | 0.0199% |
| 1961 | #484 | 402 | 0.0199% |
| 1960 | #506 | 364 | 0.0180% |
| 1959 | #515 | 358 | 0.0177% |
| 1958 | #565 | 301 | 0.0150% |
| 1957 | #609 | 258 | 0.0126% |
| 1956 | #684 | 197 | 0.0098% |
| 1955 | #665 | 198 | 0.0101% |
| 1954 | #752 | 153 | 0.0079% |
| 1953 | #729 | 156 | 0.0083% |
| 1952 | #844 | 119 | 0.0064% |
| 1951 | #1,007 | 86 | 0.0048% |
| 1950 | #1,190 | 61 | 0.0036% |
| 1949 | #1,759 | 30 | 0.0018% |
| 1948 | #1,806 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 1947 | #1,810 | 29 | 0.0016% |
| 1946 | #2,006 | 22 | 0.0014% |
| 1945 | #1,729 | 24 | 0.0018% |
| 1944 | #2,259 | 16 | 0.0012% |
| 1943 | #1,930 | 21 | 0.0015% |
| 1942 | #2,760 | 12 | 0.0009% |
| 1940 | #3,128 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1939 | #4,106 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1936 | #3,607 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1935 | #3,643 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1934 | #3,366 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1933 | #3,648 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1931 | #3,736 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1930 | #5,021 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1927 | #4,139 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1926 | #5,369 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1924 | #4,305 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1923 | #2,682 | 13 | 0.0011% |
| 1922 | #4,304 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #11,656 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2009 | #13,800 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2007 | #8,674 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 2006 | #9,281 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2005 | #11,014 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2004 | #2,936 | 35 | 0.0018% |
| 2003 | #7,066 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2002 | #4,839 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 2001 | #4,618 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2000 | #5,225 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1999 | #5,915 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1998 | #3,566 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1997 | #3,832 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1996 | #3,500 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 1995 | #2,661 | 28 | 0.0015% |
| 1994 | #2,478 | 31 | 0.0016% |
| 1993 | #2,491 | 30 | 0.0015% |
| 1992 | #2,283 | 33 | 0.0017% |
| 1991 | #2,330 | 31 | 0.0015% |
| 1990 | #1,799 | 44 | 0.0021% |
| 1989 | #1,179 | 82 | 0.0041% |
| 1988 | #1,326 | 61 | 0.0032% |
| 1987 | #1,256 | 61 | 0.0033% |
| 1986 | #1,237 | 61 | 0.0033% |
| 1985 | #1,030 | 80 | 0.0043% |
| 1984 | #1,341 | 50 | 0.0028% |
| 1983 | #1,322 | 50 | 0.0028% |
| 1982 | #1,334 | 50 | 0.0028% |
| 1981 | #1,536 | 40 | 0.0022% |
| 1980 | #1,684 | 35 | 0.0020% |
| 1979 | #1,980 | 27 | 0.0016% |
| 1978 | #2,050 | 24 | 0.0015% |
| 1977 | #2,327 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 1976 | #2,304 | 20 | 0.0013% |
| 1975 | #3,367 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1974 | #3,072 | 12 | 0.0008% |
| 1973 | #3,609 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1972 | #4,282 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1971 | #4,736 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1968 | #4,530 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
Explore Name Lists Featuring Megan
Carl appears in several baby name collections based on U.S. popularity records, naming trends, and name characteristics. Explore these lists to discover other names with similar histories, styles, or features.
Most Popular Girl Names at All Time
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How the Name Megan Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have psychic power. You can carry on for others with joy. You have a receptive nature and may bear burdens for others. You are pragmatic, thorough, strong-willed, practical and stubborn at times. You are hard working, often martyr to duty. You like home and security above all. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.
Dependable, very down-to-earth and well grounded, you are always looking for meaningful work, a career where you can take pride in your work and do the best job you are capable of. Your prime desire is to build protected and secure environment at home and at work. You can be very persuasive in achieving goals and gaining objectives. You can be very detailed and well-organized and possess great organizational skills. At times you may appear too stubborn and overly critical to others, but your practical approach to life and productivity makes you one of the most beneficent members of community.
✦ Megan's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Megan's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.