Moreen
A modern variation of the name Maureen, meaning "child of the morning".
Name Census estimates that about 182 living Americans carry the first name Moreen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Moreen today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Moreen births was 1956 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Moreen. 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
182
~ 1 in 1,883,266 Americans
Peak year
1956
12 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
1998 SSA rank
#15,795
Tracked since 1926
Census
Moreen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 577 people with the first name Moreen, which placed it at #18,616 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
#18,616
National first-name rank
People counted
577
577 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Moreen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Moreen is White at 58.1%. The next largest groups are Black (26.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.4%). 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 Moreen 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 Moreen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.1% · 335
- Black or African American26.7% · 154
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.4% · 60
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 19
- Two or more races1.6% · 9
Popularity
Moreen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Moreen from the 1920s through to the 1990s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 77 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Moreen 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 Moreen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Moreen
The name Moreen is believed to have its origins in the Gaelic language, which was spoken by the Celtic people of Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. It is thought to be a variant of the Scottish name Muireann, which means "bright" or "shining." This name can be traced back to ancient times, with some sources suggesting that it may have been derived from the Old Irish word "muir," meaning sea.
In early medieval Ireland, the name Muireann was associated with several legendary figures, including a warrior princess and a goddess of the sea. It was also a popular name among the ancient Irish nobility, with numerous references to women bearing this name in historical records and manuscripts from the 8th to 12th centuries.
One of the earliest documented instances of the spelling "Moreen" dates back to the 16th century, when it was used as a variant of Muireann in parts of Scotland and Ireland. During this period, the name gained popularity among both Catholic and Protestant families, and it was often given to children as a testament to their faith or in honor of a religious figure.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Moreen. One of the earliest recorded examples is Moreen O'Donnell (c. 1520-1590), an Irish noblewoman and chieftain of the O'Donnell clan in Donegal. She played a significant role in the Irish confederate wars against the English Crown in the late 16th century.
Another notable figure was Moreen Duval (1703-1776), a French actress and opera singer who achieved great fame in the 18th century. She was known for her performances in the operas of Rameau and Lully, and was a celebrated figure in the cultural life of Paris during the Enlightenment era.
In the 19th century, Moreen MacLean (1837-1911) was a Scottish author and journalist who wrote extensively on the history and culture of the Scottish Highlands. Her works, including "The Literature of the Highlanders" and "The Highlanders of Scotland," helped to preserve and promote the rich traditions of her native land.
In the 20th century, Moreen Shepherd (1921-2004) was a British actress and television presenter who had a long and successful career on stage, film, and television. She is perhaps best known for her role as the matriarch in the popular sitcom "The Royle Family," which aired on the BBC from 1998 to 2000.
Finally, Moreen Naidu (born 1961) is a contemporary South African actress and activist who has worked extensively in both film and television. She has been recognized for her performances in movies such as "The Quarry" and "Sarafina!," and has also been involved in various social and political causes, particularly related to women's rights and HIV/AIDS awareness.
People
Moreen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Moreen 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
Moreen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Moreen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 182 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Moreen 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 1,883,266 US residents.
Is Moreen a common name?
We classify Moreen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 263 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Moreen most popular?
The single biggest year for Moreen was 1956, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Moreen is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Moreen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 577 people with the name Moreen, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,616 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 Moreen 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 Moreen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Moreen appears almost entirely female. Of the 579 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 Moreen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Moreen is White at 58.1%. The next largest groups are Black (26.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.4%). 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 Moreen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Moreen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.1% (335 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 Moreen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Moreen a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Moreen 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 Moreen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Moreen 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 Moreen 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 Moreen?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.