Maegen
A feminine name of unknown origin meaning "child", "little", or "precious".
Name Census estimates that about 835 living Americans carry the first name Maegen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maegen today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maegen births was 1990 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maegen. 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
835
~ 1 in 410,484 Americans
Peak year
1990
53 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
2008 SSA rank
#14,779
Tracked since 1974
Census
Maegen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 763 people with the first name Maegen, which placed it at #15,166 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
#15,166
National first-name rank
People counted
763
763 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
81.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maegen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maegen is White at 81.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.7%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Maegen 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 Maegen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.0% · 618
- Hispanic or Latino8.7% · 66
- Two or more races5.2% · 40
- Black or African American2.6% · 20
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 9
Popularity
Maegen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maegen from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 372 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Maegen 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 Maegen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maegens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Maegen, while Missouri, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 33 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maegen
The name Maegen is of Old English origin, derived from the words "maeg" and "kin," which collectively mean "mighty" or "strong kin." It emerged during the Anglo-Saxon era, around the 5th to 11th centuries AD, primarily in regions now known as England and parts of Scotland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Maegen can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This document mentions a landowner named Maegen who held estates in the county of Suffolk.
In ancient Germanic folklore, Maegen was also the name of a valiant warrior celebrated for his prowess in battle. This association with strength and valor likely contributed to the name's popularity among the Anglo-Saxon nobility.
Throughout history, several notable individuals bore the name Maegen. One of the most prominent was Maegen of Riddington, a 12th-century English noblewoman renowned for her involvement in the establishment of religious institutions and her philanthropic endeavors. She was born around 1130 and passed away in 1205.
Another historical figure was Maegen the Scribe, a renowned calligrapher and illuminator of manuscripts in the 9th century. His exquisite work can be found in various religious texts and chronicles from that era, showcasing his exceptional skill and attention to detail.
In the 13th century, Maegen of Winchcombe was a respected abbess who oversaw the construction of several buildings within the Winchcombe Abbey complex. Her leadership and architectural contributions left a lasting impact on the local community.
Maegen Fitz-Alan, born in 1285, was a prominent English knight who fought alongside King Edward I during the Scottish Wars of Independence. He was celebrated for his bravery and military achievements on the battlefield.
While the name Maegen has its roots in Old English, it has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, including Maegin, Maegyn, and Maegene. These variations reflect the fluidity of language and the influence of different regional dialects on the name's spelling and pronunciation.
People
Maegen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maegen as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Maegen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maegen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 835 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maegen 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 410,484 US residents.
Is Maegen a common name?
We classify Maegen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 875 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maegen most popular?
The single biggest year for Maegen was 1990, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maegen is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Maegen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 763 people with the name Maegen, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,166 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 Maegen 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 Maegen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maegen appears almost entirely female. Of the 760 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Maegen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maegen is White at 81.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.7%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Maegen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Maegen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.0% (618 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 Maegen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maegen a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maegen in the SSA data are female. 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 Maegen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maegen 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 Maegen 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 Maegen?
Want to know how many Americans are named Maegen? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.