Kegan
A masculine name of Irish origin referring to a person born prematurely.
Name Census estimates that about 3,987 living Americans carry the first name Kegan. It is a predominantly male name (94.2% of registrations). The average person named Kegan today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Kegan births was 1992 (190 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Kegan. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Kegan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.0K
~ 1 in 85,968 Americans
Peak year
1992
190 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,365
Tracked since 1970
Census
Kegan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,656 people with the first name Kegan, which placed it at #4,896 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#4,896
National first-name rank
People counted
3.7K
3,656 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Kegan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kegan is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Black (6.2%) and Two or More Races (6.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Kegan described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Kegan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.2% · 2,932
- Black or African American6.2% · 225
- Two or more races6.0% · 219
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 179
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 50
Gender
Gender distribution for Kegan
Kegan leans heavily male at 94.2% of total registrations, but 237 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Kegan as a male name
- Ranked #4,365 in 2024
- 24 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1992 (175 births)
Kegan as a female name
- Ranked #17,162 in 2017
- 5 female births in 2017
- Peak: 1992 (15 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kegan leans strongly male. 3,387 people counted with this name were male (92.7%), compared with 266 female bearers (7.3%).
Popularity
Kegan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Kegan from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 1,458 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Kegan 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 Kegan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Kegans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 27 states and territories. Michigan, Texas, Indiana recorded the most babies named Kegan, while Wyoming, Utah, Oregon recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 61 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Kegan
The name Kegan originates from the Irish Gaelic language and is derived from the word "caogán," which means "little blind one" or "little squinty one." This suggests that the name was originally a descriptive nickname given to someone with a squint or eye impairment. The name has its roots in Ireland and can be traced back to the medieval period, around the 12th to 15th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Kegan can be found in the Irish Annals, a collection of historical records written by medieval Irish monks. In these annals, the name appears as "Caogán" and is mentioned in reference to various individuals from that era.
The name Kegan has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Kegan O'Reilly, an Irish chieftain who lived in the 16th century and played a role in the Irish Confederate Wars against English rule.
Another significant figure was Kegan Paul (1828-1899), an English publisher and author who co-founded the publishing firm Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. This company played a crucial role in disseminating literary works during the Victorian era.
In the 20th century, Kegan Vaughan (1904-1956) was a British writer and journalist who authored several books on topics ranging from politics to travel. He is particularly known for his work "The Camouflage Story," which chronicled the development of camouflage techniques during World War II.
More recently, Kegan Schouwiler (born 1966) is an American businesswoman and co-founder of the company SOLS Systems, which specializes in 3D-printed orthotic insoles. She has been recognized for her entrepreneurial endeavors and contributions to the field of personalized healthcare technology.
Another notable figure is Kegan Marsden (born 1982), a South African cricketer who has played for various domestic teams in South Africa and has also represented the national team in several international tournaments.
While the name Kegan is not as common as some other Irish names, it has maintained a presence throughout history, carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions. Its unique origin and meaning have given it a distinctive character that continues to resonate with those who bear this name.
People
Kegan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Kegan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with K
Other first names starting with K with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Kegan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Kegan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,987 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Kegan 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 85,968 US residents.
Is Kegan a common name?
We classify Kegan as "Rare". It ranks above 96% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,069 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Kegan most popular?
The single biggest year for Kegan was 1992, when 190 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Kegan is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Kegan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,656 people with the name Kegan, or 1.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,896 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Kegan in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Kegan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Kegan leans strongly male. 3,387 people counted with this name were male (92.7%), compared with 266 female bearers (7.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Kegan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Kegan is White at 80.2%. The next largest groups are Black (6.2%) and Two or More Races (6.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Kegan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Kegan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.2% (2,932 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Kegan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Kegan a male name?
Yes, 94.2% of people registered as Kegan 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.
Is Kegan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Kegan in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Kegan can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people are named Kegan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.