Meighan
Feminine · “a form of Megan”
Meighan is Megan in a spelling borrowed from an Irish surname, with the eigh of neighbor in its first syllable. The surname belonged to one of the most popular leading men of silent film.
How old is the name Meighan?
Meighan first appears in US birth records in 1965 — 60 years ago. The typical Meighan alive today was born around 1986, making them about 39 years old. About 500 people named Meighan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Meighan most popular?
Meighan peaked in 1988, reaching #2489 nationally. See the whole 1988 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Margaret / Ó Miadhacháin to Meighan
The story of Meighan
Thomas Meighan was a matinee idol of the silent screen, the leading man of The Miracle Man and many other films, and his surname was a familiar sight on theater marquees. The Irish surname had its own long history before him. American parents later took up Megan in many spellings, and Meighan borrowed the surname's look for the girl's name, so it can be read either way.
Meaningscholars disagree
a form of Megan, or an Irish surname
Megan is a Welsh pet form of Margaret, pearl. Meighan is also an Irish surname, from Ó Miadhacháin, usually explained as descendant of the honorable one. The record does not say which a family meant.
How the name formed
- Margaret / Ó Miadhacháin
- Megan / Meighan
Related forms: Megan · Ó Miadhacháin
Pronouncing Meighan
MEE-gun
Most families say it like Megan. Some say MAY-gun.
Nicknames for Meighan
Limited
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1965
- Most girls named
- 198843 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2489reached in 1988
- Change vs 2001
- 0.0%5 in 2003, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Meighan in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Megan in Welsh — related form
- Ó Miadhacháin in Irish — related form
Meighans among us
people named Meighan are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Meighan sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It sounds like a familiar name.
- Meg is a ready short form.
- It is rare as a spelling.
- People will write Megan or Meagan, and the eigh will need spelling out.
- The spelling does not settle whether the first vowel is MEE or MAY.
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Meighan
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Frequently asked
- How many Meighans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Meighan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Meighan in 2025?
- Meighan is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Meighan with classmates?
- Meighan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Mary#125 · Margaret#112 · Michelle#465 · Melissa#419 · Maria#87 · Martha#712 · Marie#617 · Mildred#1962
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Meighan? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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