unisex name
Reagan
RAY-gun
- Origin Irish
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 77,156
the United States
#248
2025 births
Reagan means little king, and our data shows the opposite of what most people assume — American births more than halved during the first two years of Ronald Reagan's presidency and did not take off until a decade after he left office.
- Reagan is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in 2012, when 3,322 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,470 babies in the United States is given this name.
- Reagan started out as a boys' name and is now given almost entirely to girls.
- First appears in US birth records in 1913.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Reagan over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1910s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 43 |
| 1920s | 39 |
| 1930s | 41 |
| 1940s | 128 |
| 1950s | 201 |
| 1960s | 348 |
| 1970s | 1,255 |
| 1980s | 1,155 |
| 1990s | 5,339 |
| 2000s | 22,400 |
| 2010s | 30,965 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 11,666 |
What Reagan means
Reagan means little king, or descendant of the little king. The Irish riogh means a king and the diminutive softens it, so the name describes rank rather than a personal quality.
Where Reagan comes from
Reagan anglicizes the Irish Ó Ríagáin — descendant of Riagán, a personal name built on riogh, a king, with a diminutive ending. The family held land in what is now County Meath before the Norman invasion displaced them. The name is unrelated to Regan in King Lear, whose source is a separate Celtic name in Geoffrey of Monmouth. Its American use is almost entirely as a surname turned given name, and almost entirely female.
Reagan in use
The presidency did not lift this name — it suppressed it. American births ran 220 in 1978 and 219 in 1980, then fell to 160 in 1981, the year of the inauguration, and 86 in 1982, staying under 150 for the rest of the term. The rise came afterwards: 519 in 1995, 1,311 in 2000, 2,724 in 2005 and a peak of 3,322 in 2012, twenty-three years after he left office. It also turned female as it climbed, from 76 percent in 1978 to 93 percent by 2012. It now ranks 248th in the United States on 1,342 births, 500th in Northern Ireland, 1050th in Ireland, 1151st in England and Wales and 6537th in France.
How popular is Reagan?
In 2025, Reagan was given to 1,342 babies in the United States, ranking #248 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Reagan is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Reagan
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Reagan also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Reagan over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Reagan
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.
Reagan 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 Reagan
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Reagan — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Reagan
What does the name Reagan mean?
Little king — the Irish riogh, a king, with a diminutive ending.
Did Ronald Reagan make the name popular?
The reverse. Births more than halved during his first two years in office and only rose a decade after he left.
Is Reagan a girls' name?
Overwhelmingly now — it went from 76 percent female in 1978 to 93 percent by 2012.
Is it the Regan in King Lear?
No — that is a separate Celtic name from Geoffrey of Monmouth.
How many syllables are in Reagan?
Reagan has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Reagan?
Reagan is usually shortened to Rea.
Is Reagan a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Reagan currently ranks #248 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.