Girl · #791 in 2026

Megan

Name: Popularity of the name Megan in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Megan, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

Megan is a Welsh feminine given name, originally a diminutive form of Margaret. Margaret is from the Greek μαργαρίτης (margarítēs), Latin margarīta, "pearl". Megan is one of the most popular Welsh-language names for women in Wales and England, and is commonly truncated to Meg.

Current Rank

#791

Peak Rank

#10 (1990)

Total Babies

440K

5-Yr Trend

-28%

1922

First Year

2026

Last Year

1990

Peak Year

#10

Peak Rank

440K

Total Count

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Megan

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

The Story of Megan

Megan first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1922, with 7 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1990, when 20,259 Megans were born — ranking #11 that year. As of 2026, Megan ranks #791 for baby girls with 354 births, falling sharply (-28%). In total, more than 440K Megans have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1920s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Names that sound like Megan

Phonetically similar names — useful when Megan is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Megan

What does the name Megan mean?

How popular is Megan in 2026?

In 2026, Megan ranks #791 among girls' names in the U.S., with 354 babies given the name that year.

When was Megan most popular?

Megan reached its peak popularity in 1990, ranking #10 that year with 20,259 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Megan most popular?

Megan has historically been most popular in Utah, Iowa, Indiana. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Megan.

Is Megan a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Megan is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.

What names go well with Megan?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Megan include Laura, Lillian, Rebecca. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Megan

Megan is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1922 and has accumulated 440K births in the dataset. Megan's peak popularity came in 1990 when it ranked #10. Use the chart and map above to compare Megan's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.