Reagan
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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.
How popular is Reagan around the world?
In the United States, 11,666 babies were named Reagan between 2020 and 2025.
Reagan is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Canada, England and Wales and Ireland.
United States
1 in 1,900
In the United States, 11,666 babies were named Reagan between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Reagan peaked in the 2010s. Reagan went to 3,268 US babies in 2015 and 1,342 in 2025, 41% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 6,1002017
In South Australia, 3 girls were registered as Reagan in 2017.
The count never rose above 5 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
Canada
1 in 13,000
In Canada, 15 girls named Reagan were born in 2024, ranked 1,542nd among girls that year.
In Canada, 13 boys named Reagan were born in 2024, ranked 1,614th 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, 26 boys named Reagan were born in 2025, ranked 1,124th among boys that year.
In England and Wales, 7 girls named Reagan were born in 2025, ranked 3,333rd among girls 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
Ireland
1 in 18,000
In Ireland, 3 boys named Reagan were born in 2025, the 829th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
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
New Zealand
last on record 2008
Reagan 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
Scotland
last on record 2023
Reagan is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
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
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 the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). 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 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.
Keep exploring
Names like Reagan · Names that go with Reagan · Middle names for Reagan · Climbers and fallers
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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