Reghan
A feminine variation of the Irish name "Reagan" meaning "little king".
Name Census estimates that about 880 living Americans carry the first name Reghan. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Reghan today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Reghan births was 2005 (54 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Reghan. 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
880
~ 1 in 389,494 Americans
Peak year
2005
54 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,121
Tracked since 1983
Popularity
Reghan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Reghan from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 455 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
Reghan 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 Reghan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Reghans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kansas recorded the most babies named Reghan, while Texas, Tennessee, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Reghan
The name Reghan is an Anglicized version of the Irish Gaelic name Riagáin, which is a diminutive form of the name Rí, meaning "king." The name has its roots in ancient Celtic culture and can be traced back to the medieval period in Ireland.
The earliest recorded use of the name Reghan dates back to the 12th century, when it appeared in various Irish manuscripts and historical records. One of the most notable historical figures bearing this name was Reghan Ua Lochlainn, a powerful Irish king who ruled over the northern region of Ulster in the late 12th century.
During the Middle Ages, the name Reghan was particularly popular among the Irish nobility and ruling classes, as it was associated with royalty and power. Several Irish clans, such as the O'Neills and the O'Donnells, had members who bore this name.
In the 16th century, the name Reghan gained some prominence outside of Ireland due to the work of the renowned Irish scholar and historian, Reghan O'Mulconry. O'Mulconry was one of the leading figures in preserving and documenting Irish history and literature during the tumultuous period of the Tudor conquest of Ireland.
Another notable figure who bore the name Reghan was Reghan Ó Buadhaigh, an Irish Franciscan friar who lived in the 17th century. Ó Buadhaigh was renowned for his scholarship and contributions to the study of Irish language and literature.
In the 19th century, the name Reghan was revived and gained renewed popularity among Irish families, particularly those with strong ties to their cultural heritage. One of the most famous bearers of this name during this period was Reghan O'Rourke, an Irish revolutionary who participated in the Easter Rising of 1916 and later served as a member of the Irish Parliament.
While the name Reghan has its roots firmly planted in Irish culture and history, it has since gained recognition and usage in other parts of the world, particularly in English-speaking countries with significant Irish diaspora populations.
People
Reghan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Reghan 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
Reghan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Reghan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 880 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Reghan 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 389,494 US residents.
Is Reghan a common name?
We classify Reghan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 895 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Reghan most popular?
The single biggest year for Reghan was 2005, when 54 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Reghan is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Reghan a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Reghan 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.