Keegan
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Meaning
from the Irish surname Mac Aodhagáin, 'descendant of Aodhagán', a double diminutive of Aodh 'fire'
The story
Keegan started as an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of Mac Aodhagáin. Inside it sits Aodhagán, a diminutive of a diminutive of Aodh, the Old Irish name that meant fire. A small fire, twice softened, carried through centuries of Irish family names before America picked it up as a first name. The record dates that adoption precisely: 14 boys in the 1960s, then 328, then 1,721 in the 1980s, 6,591 in the 1990s, and 14,057 in the 2000s, with 12,718 in the 2010s and 3,090 so far this decade. Girls carried it too, 1,278 of them in the 2000s alone. It rode the same wave that lifted so many Irish surnames into American first names, and it did so while naming, quietly, the smallest possible flame.
How popular is Keegan around the world?
In the United States, 3,457 babies were named Keegan between 2020 and 2025. In Ireland, 11 boys named Keegan were born in 2025, the 348th most common name among boys that year.
Keegan is on the official records of the United States, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, England and Wales and South Australia.
United States
1 in 6,300
In the United States, 3,457 babies were named Keegan between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Keegan peaked in the 2010s. Keegan went to 1,476 US babies in 2015 and 497 in 2025, 34% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Ireland
1 in 4,900
In Ireland, 11 boys named Keegan were born in 2025, the 348th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Scotland
1 in 7,600
In Scotland, 6 boys named Keegan were registered in 2024, the 478th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Canada
1 in 12,000
In Canada, 31 boys named Keegan were born in 2024, the 831st most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 18,000
In England and Wales, 32 boys named Keegan were born in 2025, the 953rd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Keegan in 2017.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Austria
last on record 2014
Keegan is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
New Zealand
last on record 2022
Keegan is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Keegan
Most people given the name Keegan in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Keegan travels
Irish American · A distinctive modern Irish American heritage choice.
Keep exploring
The Keegan deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Keegan truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Keegan fits with your family’s names and surname.
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