Total births
440,065
Girls' name · since 1922
Megan
440,065 babies named Megan in U.S. Social Security records since 1922, with the highest year being 1990. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #764
- among girls today
- 440,065
- born since 1922
- 1990s
- peak decade
- 96%
- more common than other girls
Megan currently ranks #764 among girls' names in America, with 440,065 babies recorded since 1922.
Megan has 440,065 recorded births among girls since 1922, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #764 as of the latest data, more common than 96% of girls, busiest in the 1990s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1922 to 2025.
- #764 among girls today
- 440,065 born since 1922
- 1990s peak decade
- 96% more common than other girls
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
Megan is currently the #764 girls' name in America, more common than 96% of girls - 440,065 born since 1922, peaking in the 1990s.
- #764
- among girls today
- 440,065
- born since 1922
- 1990s
- peak decade
- 96%
- more common than other girls
Megan vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
#764
of 17,726 girls in use
More common than 96% of names given to girls today.
1990s
Peak decade
36% of everyone ever named Megan was born in this single decade.
1990
Single peak year
20,259 babies were named Megan in 1990 - its busiest year on record.
How Megan compares
440,065 Top 0% higher than 100% of 17,726 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Megan's all-time total is 1,152x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Megan | Median girls name (Emerly) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 440,065 | 382 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 20,259 | 48 | 19,840 |
Megan's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Megan splits its recorded history at 1977: 94% of all births land in the more recent half, 6% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1926 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1990 peak of 20,259 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Megan at a glance
Top 1,000 girls' namePeak year
1990
Current rank
#764
Active since
1922
Megan popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1922–2025
- Peak year (1990)
- 20,259
- Annual births at peak, across 104 years of records
Megan popularity over time - boys
1,104 total births recorded since 1968 (Megan as boys' name)
Megan by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
1990s was Megan's strongest decade.
160,375 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 36% of all-time use.
Megan births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1920s 39
1920s
39 births
- 1930s 47
1930s
47 births
- 1940s 191
1940s
191 births
- 1950s 1,887
1950s
1,887 births
- 1960s 5,916
1960s
5,916 births
- 1970s 37,355
1970s
37,355 births
- 1980s
1980s
153,500 births
- 1990s
1990s
160,375 births
- 2000s
2000s
66,833 births
- 2010s 11,493
2010s
11,493 births
- 2020s 2,429
2020s
2,429 births
What this shows Peak: 1990s at 160,375 births (36% of all-time use).
How Megan compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Megan's total volume
Megan vs 15 similarly-sized girls names
Megan by state
Where Megan concentrates geographically, total births since 1922
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 42,128 | 9.6% |
| #2 | Texas | | 26,120 | 5.9% |
| #3 | Ohio | | 25,967 | 5.9% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 25,260 | 5.7% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 22,602 | 5.1% |
| #6 | New York | | 22,197 | 5.0% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 18,464 | 4.2% |
| #8 | Florida | | 16,621 | 3.8% |
California share of Megan's total US births 9.6%
Even split
42,128 of 440,065 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Megan appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Megan? ▼
440,065 babies have been named Megan since 1922. It currently ranks #764 among girls. The peak year was 1990 with 20,259 births.
When was Megan most popular? ▼
Megan was most popular in the 1990s decade with 160,375 total births. The single peak year was 1990.
Where is Megan most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Megan are California (42,128 births), Texas (26,120 births), Ohio (25,967 births).
How long has the name Megan been used? ▼
Megan has been recorded in Social Security data since 1922, spanning 104 years of data through 2025.
What names are similar to Megan? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Meghan, Meg, Meghann, Meggan, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.
What to do with Megan's data
- Megan's decade-level peak was the 1990s (160,375 total births); usage has since declined to 2,429 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Megans (42,128 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Megan
Nearby Names Like Megan
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Megan
Meghan Girl
#1448 96,500 births
Meg Girl
5,321 births
Meghann Girl
3,788 births
Meggan Girl
2,927 births
Megha Girl
#6471 1,191 births
Compare Megan side by side: Megan vs Meghan Megan vs Meg Megan vs Meghann
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Megan
Data Sources
Data as of June 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1922–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Megan: #764 Girls' Name - 440,065 Births, Peak 1990." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/megan. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Megan draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.