girl's name
Imogen
IM-o-jen
- Origin Irish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 100 (E&W)
- Births on record 40,363
England and Wales
#69
2025 births
Imogen is a girl's name that exists because of a printing error. Shakespeare wrote Innogen in Cymbeline, from the Irish inghean, maiden, and a compositor set it as Imogen — the misprint became the name.
- Imogen is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in England and Wales in 2010, when 2,045 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in England and Wales.
- Today about 1 in 813 babies in England and Wales is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1996.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Imogen over time
Births per decade in England and Wales, 1990s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1990s | 3,242 |
| 2000s | 11,652 |
| 2010s | 14,689 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 4,823 |
What Imogen means
Imogen is usually given as maiden or daughter, from the Irish inghean. Because the spelling originates in an error, the meaning strictly belongs to Innogen, the name Shakespeare intended.
Where Imogen comes from
Cymbeline was printed in the First Folio of 1623 with the heroine's name as Imogen. Shakespeare's source, Holinshed's Chronicles, gives Innogen — a name recorded in Irish and British legend as the wife of Brutus, from the Irish inghean, meaning maiden or daughter. The n was almost certainly misread as an m by the typesetter. Because Cymbeline was the only source anyone had, the misprint became the standard spelling and eventually a real name, one of very few in English use that can be traced to a specific typographical accident.
Imogen in use
Our data shows Imogen peaking in 2010 and still rising, at 69 in England and Wales against 1,118 in the United States — a sixteen-fold gap. It first appears in our records in 1996, three centuries after the misprint that created it, so its life as a real name is much shorter than its life on the page.
How popular is Imogen?
In 2025, Imogen was given to 648 babies in England and Wales, ranking #69 that year. It is one of the most popular names in England and Wales.
Where Imogen is used
Figures for England and Wales withhold any name given to fewer than three babies in a year, so a gap means the name fell below that floor rather than went unused. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Imogen
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Imogen also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Imogen over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
4 nicknames for Imogen
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Imogen in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Imogen
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Imogen — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Imogen
What does the name Imogen mean?
Usually "maiden" or "daughter," from the Irish inghean — though strictly that meaning belongs to Innogen, the name Shakespeare wrote.
Did Shakespeare invent Imogen?
Not deliberately. He wrote Innogen in Cymbeline; a compositor misread the n as an m in the 1623 First Folio, and the misprint stuck.
How do you pronounce Imogen?
IM-o-jen, with a soft g and the stress on the first syllable.
How popular is the name Imogen?
In 2025, Imogen was given to 648 babies in England and Wales, ranking #69 that year. It is one of the most popular names in England and Wales.
Is Imogen a girl's or a boy's name?
Imogen is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Imogen?
Imogen has 3 syllables.
When was Imogen most popular?
Imogen peaked in 2010, when 2,045 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Imogen?
Imogen is usually shortened to Immy, Genie, Mo and Imo.
Is Imogen a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Imogen currently ranks #69 in England and Wales. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.