ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 👧As Girl Name 1946 First Year 2026 Last Year 2001 Peak Year #391 Peak Rank 16K Total Count 81 Years Active 👦As Boy Name 1920 First Year 2026 Last Year 1979 Peak Year #815 Peak Rank 4K Total Count 82 Years Active Advertisement 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Regan What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. Regan is a unisex given name with multiple origins. It is a transferred use of the Irish surnames Regan and Reagan, which are Anglicized forms of Ó Riagáin, meaning 'descendant of Riagán', a name of uncertain meaning. Use for girls was influenced by a character in William Shakespeare’s tragic play King Lear. Regan was more commonly used for males in the Anglosphere in the 1800s. Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regan%5F%28given%5Fname%29) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regan%5F%28given%5Fname%29) ### Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name) * Literature * English [![Wikipedia thumbnail for Regan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Goneril_and_Regan_from_King_Lear.jpg?utm_source=en.wikipedia.org&utm_campaign=api&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regan%5F%28given%5Fname%29) 📖 ## The Story of Regan ### As a girl name Regan first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a girl name in 1946, with 6 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 2001: 747 births, good for #391 nationwide. About 37% of every Regan on record arrived during the 2000s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Regan ranks #2,558 for girls with 69 births, falling sharply (-43%). All told, over 16K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1940s to the 2020s. ### As a boy name Regan first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a boy name in 1920, with 5 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1979: 89 births, good for #930 nationwide. As of 2026, Regan ranks #4,050 for boys with 27 births, falling sharply (-28%). All told, over 4K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1920s to the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time Girls Boys ## Popularity by State 👧 Girls 👦 Boys ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data 🔗 ## Variants & Related Forms of Regan Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Regan. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [Raegan](/raegan) * [Reagan](/reagan) * [Regana](/regana) 🎶 ## Names that sound like Regan Phonetically similar names — useful when Regan is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [Reagan](/reagan) * [Reagen](/reagen) * [Reagon](/reagon) * Rican * [Rogan](/rogan) * [Rogen](/rogen) * [Regen](/regen) * [Ragan](/ragan) * [Ragen](/ragen) * Rugen * Wrekin * [Riggan](/riggan) Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Regan What does the name Regan mean? Regan is a unisex given name with multiple origins. It is a transferred use of the Irish surnames Regan and Reagan, which are Anglicized forms of Ó Riagáin, meaning 'descendant of Riagán', a name of uncertain meaning. Use for girls was influenced by a character in William Shakespeare’s tragic play King Lear. Regan was more commonly used for males in the Anglosphere in the 1800s. What is the origin of the name Regan? Regan has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: Literature, English. How popular is Regan in 2026? In 2026, Regan ranks #2,558 among girls' names in the U.S., with 69 babies given the name that year. When was Regan most popular? Regan reached its peak popularity in 2001, ranking #391 that year with 747 babies given the name. In which U.S. states is Regan most popular? Regan has historically been most popular in South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Regan. Is Regan a unisex name? Yes — Regan is used for both girls and boys in U.S. records, with about 81% of Regans assigned female and 19% assigned male historically. What names go well with Regan? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Regan include Matie, Dona, Lovie. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. What are nicknames or variants of Regan? Common variants and related forms of Regan include Raegan, Reagan, Regana. These cover foreign-language equivalents, alternate spellings, and short forms. ## Similar Names ### 👧 Similar Girl Names [👧MatiePeak #391](/matie)[👧DonaPeak #391](/dona)[👧LoviePeak #391](/lovie)[👧SenaPeak #391](/sena) ### 👦 Similar Boy Names [👦NilsPeak #815](/nils)[👦DarrynPeak #815](/darryn)[👦CristoferPeak #815](/cristofer)[👦JruePeak #815](/jrue) Advertisement ## About the name Regan Regan is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1946 and has accumulated 16K births in the dataset. Regan's peak popularity came in 2001 when it ranked #391\. Use the chart and map above to compare Regan's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 2001 → ](/year/2001) * [ Names of the 2000s → ](/decade/2000s) * [ Names starting with "R" → ](/letter/r) * [ Browse all girl names → ](/names/girls) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) * [ Browse unisex names → ](/names/unisex) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). 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 ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). 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. Advertisement