Peg
A feminine diminutive of Margaret, meaning "pearl".
Name Census estimates that about 458 living Americans carry the first name Peg. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Peg today is around 72 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Peg births was 1957 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Peg. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Peg is about 72 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Pegs were born before 1964.
People living today
458
~ 1 in 748,372 Americans
Peak year
1957
43 babies that year
Average age
72
years old
1968 SSA rank
#7,861
Tracked since 1913
Popularity
Peg: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Peg from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 303 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1950s peak, Peg remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Peg 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 Peg during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Pegs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Ohio, Michigan, Illinois recorded the most babies named Peg, while Pennsylvania, Nebraska, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 20 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Peg
The name Peg is a diminutive form of the name Margaret, which has its origins in the Greek name Margarites, meaning "pearl." The name Peg was initially used as a nickname for Margaret in English-speaking countries, particularly in Britain and the United States.
Historically, the name Margaret was introduced to Western Europe through the cult of St. Margaret of Antioch, a 3rd-century Christian martyr. Her name gained popularity during the Middle Ages, and variations of the name, including Peg, emerged as pet forms or nicknames.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Peg can be found in the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, the renowned English poet and author of "The Canterbury Tales." In his poem "The Miller's Tale," written in the late 14th century, Chaucer refers to a character named "Peg the Wanton."
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Peg. For instance, Peg Woffington (c. 1718-1760) was an Irish actress and playwright who gained fame on the London stage during the 18th century. Another prominent figure was Peg Entwistle (1908-1932), an American actress who tragically committed suicide by jumping from the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles.
In the realm of literature, Peg Plunkett is a character in James Joyce's novel "Ulysses," published in 1922. Peg Bracken (1918-2007) was an American author and humorist, best known for her book "The I Hate to Cook Book," which became a bestseller in the 1960s.
Peg Leg Bates (1907-1998), born Clayton Bates, was an African American dancer and actor who performed in vaudeville and films. Despite losing a leg as a child, he became famous for his unique tap dancing style, earning him the nickname "Peg Leg."
These examples illustrate the enduring presence of the name Peg throughout various cultural spheres, from literature and theatre to entertainment and popular culture.
People
Peg + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Peg as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Peg: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Peg?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 458 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Peg 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 748,372 US residents.
Is Peg a common name?
We classify Peg as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 841 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Peg most popular?
The single biggest year for Peg was 1957, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Peg is about 72 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Peg a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Peg 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.
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.