Peggy
A feminine diminutive of Margaret, derived from the Greek meaning "pearl".
Name Census estimates that about 146,399 living Americans carry the first name Peggy. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Peggy today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Peggy births was 1958 (10,084 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Peggy. 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
- • Although Peggy is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 798 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • The typical person named Peggy is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Peggys were born before 1965.
- • Compared to the 1950s, recent registration numbers for Peggy have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
146K
~ 1 in 2,341 Americans
Peak year
1958
10,084 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
1977 SSA rank
#6,587
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Peggy
Out of the 293,549 babies given the name Peggy since 1880, 99.7% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Peggy as a male name
- Ranked #6,587 in 1977
- 5 male births in 1977
- Peak: 1936 (34 births)
Peggy as a female name
- Ranked #8,281 in 2024
- 13 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1958 (10,070 births)
Popularity
Peggy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Peggy from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 84,463 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
Peggy 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 Peggy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Peggys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. Texas, North Carolina, Ohio recorded the most babies named Peggy, while Rhode Island, Alaska, New Hampshire recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5,658 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Peggy
The name Peggy is a diminutive form of the name Margaret, which has its origins in the Greek word "margarites," meaning pearl. The name Margaret was brought to England by the Normans in the 11th century, and it became a popular name among the English nobility.
The earliest recorded use of the name Peggy as a nickname for Margaret dates back to the late 16th century. It is believed to have originated as a pet name or diminutive form of Margaret, likely derived from the rhyming syllables "meg" or "peg."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Peggy can be found in the works of William Shakespeare. In his play "The Taming of the Shrew," written around 1592, a character named Petruchio refers to his wife, Katherina, as "Kate the cursed, Peggy the blessed."
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures who bore the name Peggy. One of the most famous was Peggy Shippen Arnold (1760-1804), the second wife of the infamous American Revolutionary War general Benedict Arnold. Her marriage to Arnold and her alleged role in his defection to the British have made her a controversial figure in American history.
Another notable Peggy was Peggy Guggenheim (1898-1979), an American art collector and socialite. She played a significant role in promoting and supporting modern art and artists, particularly in the fields of Abstract Expressionism and Surrealism.
In the realm of literature, Peggy Ashcroft (1907-1991) was a renowned British actress who won numerous accolades, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA, for her performances on stage and screen.
The name Peggy also has a connection to the world of aviation. Peggy Whitson (born 1960) is a former NASA astronaut who holds the record for the most cumulative time spent in space by a United States astronaut, with a total of 665 days in orbit.
Another notable Peggy was Peggy Noonan (born 1950), an American author, speechwriter, and political analyst. She served as a speechwriter and special assistant to former President Ronald Reagan and has authored several books on politics and culture.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Peggy, highlighting its enduring popularity and cultural significance across various fields and eras.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Peggy
People
Peggy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Peggy 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
Peggy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Peggy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 146,399 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Peggy 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 2,341 US residents.
Is Peggy a common name?
We classify Peggy as "Common". It ranks above 99.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 293,549 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Peggy most popular?
The single biggest year for Peggy was 1958, when 10,084 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Peggy is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Peggy a female name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Peggy 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.