Pegi
A diminutive form of the name Margaret meaning "pearl".
Name Census estimates that about 106 living Americans carry the first name Pegi. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Pegi today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Pegi births was 1958 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Pegi. 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 Pegi is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Pegis were born before 1966.
People living today
106
~ 1 in 3,233,531 Americans
Peak year
1958
15 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
1965 SSA rank
#5,657
Tracked since 1939
Census
Pegi in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 262 people with the first name Pegi, which placed it at #32,242 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
#32,242
National first-name rank
People counted
262
262 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
91.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pegi
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pegi is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%). 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 Pegi 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 Pegi at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.6% · 240
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 5
- Two or more races1.9% · 5
- Black or African American1.1% · 3
Popularity
Pegi: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Pegi from the 1930s through to the 1960s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 86 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1950s peak, Pegi remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Pegi 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 Pegi 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 Pegi
The name Pegi is a diminutive form of the name Peggy, which is derived from the Greek name Pēgē, meaning "spring" or "source of water." The name Pegi was originally used as a nickname for Peggy, and its origins can be traced back to ancient Greek culture.
In Greek mythology, Pēgē was the name of a nymph associated with springs and fountains. She was considered the personification of these natural water sources, which were revered as sacred places in ancient Greek culture. The name Pegi carries a connection to this mythological figure and the importance of water in Greek mythology.
The earliest recorded use of the name Pegi can be found in various historical documents dating back to the Middle Ages. One notable example is Pegi, a Flemish noblewoman who lived in the 13th century and was renowned for her philanthropic work and support for the poor.
Throughout history, several influential individuals have borne the name Pegi. Pegi Nicol MacLeod (1914-2014) was a Scottish painter and printmaker known for her landscapes and depictions of rural life in Scotland. Pegi Cuesta (1962-) is an American entrepreneur and co-founder of the online greeting card company, Blue Mountain Arts.
Another notable figure with the name Pegi is Pegi Young (1952-2019), an American singer-songwriter and environmental activist. She was also the co-founder of the Bridge School, an institution dedicated to educating children with severe speech and physical impairments. Pegi Young's contributions to music and advocacy for children with disabilities left a lasting impact.
Pegi Deitz Shea (1932-2020) was an American author and illustrator of children's books, best known for her work on the "Whistle for Willie" series. Her books were widely praised for their engaging storytelling and vibrant illustrations, captivating generations of young readers.
Pegi Nicol (1949-2019) was a Canadian actress and voice artist, renowned for her work in numerous animated television series and films. She lent her voice to iconic characters such as Sailor Moon and Spike from "Cowboy Bebop," leaving an indelible mark on the world of animation.
People
Pegi + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Pegi 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
Pegi: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Pegi?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 106 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Pegi 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 3,233,531 US residents.
Is Pegi a common name?
We classify Pegi as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 156 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Pegi most popular?
The single biggest year for Pegi was 1958, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Pegi is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Pegi in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 262 people with the name Pegi, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,242 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 Pegi 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 Pegi?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Pegi appears almost entirely female. Of the 268 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Pegi?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Pegi is White at 91.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%). 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 Pegi most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Pegi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.6% (240 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 Pegi in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Pegi a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Pegi 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 Pegi still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Pegi 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 Pegi 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 Pegi?
Find out how many people share the name Pegi on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.