Maygan
A feminine name of Old English origin, derived from the Germanic name Maigan, meaning "strength" or "power".
Name Census estimates that about 593 living Americans carry the first name Maygan. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Maygan today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Maygan births was 1997 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Maygan. 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 Maygan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
593
~ 1 in 578,001 Americans
Peak year
1997
34 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2016 SSA rank
#17,937
Tracked since 1976
Census
Maygan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 563 people with the first name Maygan, which placed it at #18,985 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
#18,985
National first-name rank
People counted
563
563 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maygan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maygan is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.1%) and Black (7.1%). 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 Maygan 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 Maygan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.0% · 400
- Hispanic or Latino13.1% · 74
- Black or African American7.1% · 40
- Two or more races4.6% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 8
Popularity
Maygan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Maygan from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 253 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
Maygan 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 Maygan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Maygans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Maygan, while New York, Florida, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Maygan
The given name Maygan has its origins rooted in the ancient Gaelic language, which was predominantly spoken in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man during the medieval period. Derived from the Old Irish word "máighdean," meaning "maiden" or "virgin," the name carries connotations of purity, innocence, and feminine grace.
One of the earliest recorded instances of this name can be traced back to the 12th century, where it appeared in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. The name was borne by Maygan Ní Chonchobair, a noblewoman from the influential O'Conor dynasty in Connacht, Ireland.
In the realm of literature, the name Maygan gained prominence through its association with the legendary figure of Maid Marian, the beloved companion of Robin Hood in the classic English folklore tales. While her name has been spelled in various ways, including Marian and Mariam, some scholars suggest that the name Maygan may have been an early variant.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have carried the name Maygan. One such figure was Maygan Feeney (c. 1560-1640), an Irish poet and storyteller renowned for her contribution to the preservation of traditional Gaelic literature and oral traditions.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Maygan O'Doherty (1635-1705), an Irish chieftain and military leader who played a significant role in the Williamite War in Ireland during the late 17th century, leading the Jacobite Irish forces against the forces of King William III.
In more recent times, Maygan Elaine Derbyshire (1935-2001) was a pioneering English musician and composer, best known for her groundbreaking work with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, where she created innovative electronic music and sound effects for numerous television and radio productions.
While the name Maygan may not be as widely used today as it once was, its historical significance and ties to Gaelic culture and literature continue to resonate, serving as a reminder of the rich tapestry of names and their enduring legacies across time and civilizations.
People
Maygan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Maygan 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
Maygan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Maygan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 593 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Maygan 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 578,001 US residents.
Is Maygan a common name?
We classify Maygan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 612 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Maygan most popular?
The single biggest year for Maygan was 1997, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Maygan is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Maygan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 563 people with the name Maygan, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,985 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 Maygan 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 Maygan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Maygan appears almost entirely female. Of the 558 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Maygan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Maygan is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (13.1%) and Black (7.1%). 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 Maygan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Maygan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.0% (400 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 Maygan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Maygan a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Maygan 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 Maygan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Maygan 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 Maygan 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 called Maygan?
You can see how many Americans are named Maygan on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.