Reagan
Meaning
surname from Ó Riagáin, traditionally "little king"
The story
Reagan is an Irish family name, from O Riagain, traditionally read as little king, one of those surnames that carried a whole clan's history across the centuries in Ireland. For nearly a hundred years it barely registered as an American first name. Then came the 1980s, when the surname sat in every headline and nightly broadcast in the country, and in the decade that followed, Reagan began climbing as a girls' name. We cannot prove the connection, but the sequence is hard to miss. It also fit the moment on pure sound: crisp, two syllables, part of the same wave that lifted Riley, Peyton and Kennedy, another surname turned presidential girls' pick. Reagan peaked in the 2010s and has eased gently since, an Irish clan name that found its American life, unexpectedly, in pigtails and school photos.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Reagan peaked in the 2010s.
When you meet Reagan
Most people given the name Reagan in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Reagan deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Reagan 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 Reagan fits with your family’s names and surname.
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