Regan
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Meaning
little king, impulsive (from Ó Riagáin); immortalized by Regan MacNeil in The Exorcist (1973)
The story
Regan comes from the Irish surname Ó Riagáin, traditionally read as little king, with a streak of impulsiveness in the old glossaries. Shakespeare gave the name to one of King Lear's treacherous daughters, but the bearer people actually remember is Regan MacNeil, the twelve-year-old girl at the center of The Exorcist in 1973, the film that frightened a generation half to death. You might expect that role to bury a baby name forever. Instead Regan kept climbing: it enters the American records around midcentury and reaches its strongest stretch in the 2000s and 2010s, likely lifted by the country's affection for Reagan and its many spellings, though no one can fully untangle the two. It has eased only slightly in the 2020s. Few names have survived a scarier audition, and Regan wears the scar rather stylishly.
How popular is Regan around the world?
In the United States, 744 babies were named Regan between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 2 girls were registered as Regan in 2017.
Regan is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Ireland, Scotland and England and Wales.
United States
1 in 29,000
In the United States, 744 babies were named Regan between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Regan peaked in the 2000s and the 2010s in nearly equal measure. In US birth records Regan has stayed between 474 and 6,697 births in every decade since the 1950s: a name everyone knows and few children get.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 4,6002017
In South Australia, 2 girls were registered as Regan in 2017.
In South Australia, 2 boys were registered as Regan in 2017.
The count never rose above 7 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
Ireland
1 in 14,000
In Ireland, 4 boys named Regan were born in 2025, the 676th 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 15,000
In Scotland, 3 boys named Regan were registered in 2024, the 727th 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
England and Wales
1 in 15,000
In England and Wales, 34 boys named Regan were born in 2025, the 914th 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
Canada
last on record 2023
Regan is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
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)
Montevideo City
last on record 1990
Regan is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
New Zealand
last on record 2018
Regan 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 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 Regan
Most people given the name Regan 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.
Keep exploring
The Regan deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Regan 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 Regan fits with your family’s names and surname.
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