Morgana
Feminine · “sea-circle”
Morgana is Morgan with a Latin ending, and the figure behind it is one of the oldest in British legend: Morgan le Fay, the enchantress of the Arthurian cycle, Arthur's half-sister and sometimes his enemy. The Welsh name underneath is about the sea. Its American peak is 2023, making it one of the newest entries in this list.
How old is the name Morgana?
Morgana first appears in US birth records in 1962 — 63 years ago. The typical Morgana alive today was born around 2002, making them about 23 years old. About 700 people named Morgana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Morgana most popular?
Morgana peaked in 2023, reaching #4655 nationally. Today it ranks #6116, 1,461 places below that high. See the whole 2023 chart.
Where it comes from
From Morcant to Morgana
The story of Morgana
Morgan le Fay first appears by name in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Life of Merlin around 1150, as the chief of nine sisters ruling the Isle of Apples where Arthur is taken to be healed. Later romances made her steadily more hostile, and she became Arthur's antagonist as often as his healer. The Italian form Fata Morgana gave its name to a kind of mirage seen over the Strait of Messina, attributed to her enchantments. The name Morgana is used in Italian, Portuguese and English, and its recent American rise belongs to a broader revival of Arthurian and mythological names.
Meaningscholars disagree
sea-circle, or sea-born
Welsh Morcant is generally read as containing mor, 'sea', with a second element usually given as cant, 'circle' or 'completion', or as a word for a host. So 'sea-circle' or 'sea-chief' are the standard readings and neither is fully secure. The traditional gloss 'sea-born' is attractive and less well supported. Morgana is the Latinized feminine, and Morgan itself was historically a men's name in Wales.
How the name formed
- Morcant
- Morgan
- Morgana
Related forms: Morgan · Morgana · Morgana · Morgane
Pronouncing Morgana
mor-GAH-nah
Three syllables, stress in the middle, in the Italian and Portuguese saying. English speakers often front-stress it, MOR-guh-nuh, treating it as Morgan with an ending. Both are current in American use.
Nicknames for Morgana
High
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
- 1962
- Most girls named
- 202329 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #4655reached in 2023
- Change vs 2024
- −5.0%19 in 2025, from 20
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.
Morgana in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Morgan in Welsh — related form
- Morgana in Italian — same name
- Morgana in Portuguese — same name
- Morgane in French — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Florida.
Morganas among us
people named Morgana are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 84,593 born in 2025 was named Morgana
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Eliska test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Morgana's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Eliska climbed just as high around 1954, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Eliska's path sketches the road Morgana is walking now.
Morgana sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Morgana beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Morgana in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Morgan and Ana are both complete names available as short forms.
- It carries nine hundred years of documented legend without being obscure.
- The Welsh sea element gives it a concrete image to explain.
- The legendary figure is an antagonist in most later tellings.
- Two stress patterns circulate and the spelling does not settle which.
- The second element of the Welsh original is genuinely contested.
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What they receive
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Morgana
Feminine · #6116 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Morganas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Morgana are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Morgana in 2025?
- Morgana ranks #6116 among US girl names in 2025, with 19 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Morgana?
- About 1 in every 84,593 US girls born in 2025 was named Morgana — 19 in all.
- Will my child share the name Morgana with classmates?
- Morgana will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Morgana
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Alvina#6116 · Mena#6116 · Harvey#6116 · Kellie#6116 · Alden#6116 · Jeanna#6116 · Sammi#6116 · Mamie#6116
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Morgana? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Morgana and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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