Eagan
A masculine name of Irish origin meaning "little fire" or "son of a chief".
Name Census estimates that about 431 living Americans carry the first name Eagan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Eagan today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eagan births was 2022 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eagan. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
431
~ 1 in 795,254 Americans
Peak year
2022
31 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,961
Tracked since 1997
Popularity
Eagan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eagan from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 167 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Eagan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eagan by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Eagan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Eagans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Eagan
The given name Eagan has its origins in the Gaelic language, specifically the Irish Gaelic form of the name "Eoghan" or "Eogan". It is derived from the Old Irish word "óen", which means "born of yew" or "yew tree". The yew tree held significant symbolism in ancient Celtic culture and was considered a sacred tree associated with longevity, protection, and regeneration.
The name Eagan can be traced back to the early medieval period in Ireland, where it was borne by several notable figures in Irish history and mythology. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the ancient Irish text "Lebor Gabála Érenn" (The Book of Invasions), which mentions the legendary figure Eogan Mor, the son of Muiredach Bolgrach, who was said to have ruled over a territory in what is now County Meath in the 6th century.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Eagan was particularly popular among the Irish clans and dynasties, with several notable bearers of the name playing influential roles in Irish history. For instance, Eogan Ua Donnubain (born c. 1140) was the King of Fernmag (County Fermanagh) in the late 12th century, while Eagan O'Cahill (born c. 1350) was a renowned Irish poet and historian from County Cavan.
In the 16th century, Eagan O'Rahilly (born c. 1560) was a prominent Irish scholar, historian, and poet who played a significant role in preserving and promoting Irish literature and culture. Another notable figure was Eagan O'Donnell (born c. 1580), who was a prominent Irish chieftain and leader of the O'Donnell clan during the Nine Years' War (1594-1603) against English rule in Ireland.
Moving into the modern era, the name Eagan has continued to be used, albeit less frequently than in earlier centuries. One notable bearer of the name was Eagan Lamont (1914-1989), an American film and television actor who appeared in numerous westerns and crime dramas throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
While the name Eagan has its roots in Irish Gaelic culture, it has also been adopted and used in other parts of the world, particularly in countries with strong Irish diaspora communities, such as the United States, Canada, and Australia.
People
Eagan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eagan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Eagan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eagan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 431 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eagan going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 795,254 US residents.
Is Eagan a common name?
We classify Eagan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 435 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eagan most popular?
The single biggest year for Eagan was 2022, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eagan is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Eagan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Eagan in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.