Reaghan
An Irish variant of the Spanish name Regan, meaning "little royal" or "little king".
Name Census estimates that about 1,091 living Americans carry the first name Reaghan. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Reaghan today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Reaghan births was 2008 (71 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Reaghan. 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
- • Reaghan is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 17 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 314,165 Americans
Peak year
2008
71 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,889
Tracked since 1991
Census
Reaghan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,000 people with the first name Reaghan, which placed it at #12,439 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
#12,439
National first-name rank
People counted
1.0K
1,000 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reaghan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reaghan is White at 76.2%. The next largest groups are Black (13.1%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Reaghan 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 Reaghan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.2% · 762
- Black or African American13.1% · 131
- Two or more races4.8% · 48
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 6
Popularity
Reaghan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Reaghan from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 500 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Reaghan 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 Reaghan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Reaghans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Reaghan, while Virginia, Tennessee, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Reaghan
The name Reaghan has its roots in the Irish Gaelic language, originating from the name Riagáin, which means "little king" or "descendent of the king." This name gained prominence during the medieval period in Ireland, particularly in the regions of Leinster and Munster.
The earliest recorded mention of the name Reaghan can be traced back to the 11th century, when it appeared in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. The annals document a figure named Riagáin mac Aodha, who was a prominent chieftain of the Uí Chennselaigh, a branch of the Laigin dynasty.
In the 12th century, the name Reaghan gained further recognition with the birth of Riagáin Ua Conchobair, a member of the influential Ua Conchobair dynasty, who ruled as the King of Connacht from 1156 to 1186. His reign was marked by several conflicts with the Anglo-Normans, who had begun their invasion of Ireland during this period.
As the centuries progressed, the name Reaghan continued to be used primarily within Irish communities, particularly among those with ancestral ties to the regions of Leinster and Munster. Notable historical figures bearing the name include Riagáin Ó Cléirigh (1590-1664), a renowned Irish scholar and chronicler, and Riagáin Ó Bruadair (1590-1635), a celebrated Irish poet and author.
In the 19th century, the name Reaghan gained broader popularity with the birth of Riagáin Mac Cairthaigh (1823-1892), an Irish nationalist and member of the Young Ireland movement. Mac Cairthaigh played a significant role in the struggle for Irish independence and was widely respected for his oratory skills and dedication to the cause.
Another prominent figure with the name Reaghan was Riagáin Ó Conchúir (1886-1957), an Irish revolutionary and politician who participated in the Easter Rising of 1916. Ó Conchúir was a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and later served as a member of the Irish Parliament (Dáil Éireann) after the establishment of the Irish Free State.
While the name Reaghan has its roots firmly planted in Irish history and culture, it has since gained popularity worldwide, particularly in English-speaking countries. However, its origins and historical significance remain deeply rooted in the rich tapestry of Irish heritage and tradition.
People
Reaghan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Reaghan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Reaghan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Reaghan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,091 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Reaghan 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 314,165 US residents.
Is Reaghan a common name?
We classify Reaghan as "Rare". It ranks above 90.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,105 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Reaghan most popular?
The single biggest year for Reaghan was 2008, when 71 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Reaghan is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Reaghan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,000 people with the name Reaghan, or 0.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,439 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 Reaghan 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 Reaghan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Reaghan leans strongly female. 983 people counted with this name were female (98.4%), compared with 16 male bearers (1.6%). 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 Reaghan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reaghan is White at 76.2%. The next largest groups are Black (13.1%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Reaghan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Reaghan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.2% (762 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 Reaghan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Reaghan a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Reaghan 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 Reaghan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Reaghan 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 Reaghan 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 common is the name Reaghan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.