Morgen
Masculine · “sea-born”
Morgen is given to both — 592 boys and 1,862 girls since 1880. See Morgen as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Morgan is a Welsh name about the sea. The first element is mor, water or sea, and the second is argued — bright, or a circle, or born — but the sea is not in doubt. Morgen with an e is also, entirely separately, the German word for morning and for tomorrow, which gives this spelling a second life that has nothing to do with Wales.
How old is the name Morgen?
Morgen first appears in US birth records in 1973 — 52 years ago. The typical Morgen alive today was born around 2001, making them about 24 years old. About 600 people named Morgen are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Morgen most popular?
Morgen peaked in 1996, reaching #2679 nationally. See the whole 1996 chart.
Where it comes from
From Morcant to Morgen
The story of Morgen
Morgan is one of the oldest continuously used Welsh names and was a man's name there for well over a thousand years; Morgan le Fay in the Arthurian romances gave it a second, female life in literature. American naming took it up as a surname-name in the twentieth century and it crossed to girls in the 1980s, thoroughly enough that it now reads as a woman's name to most Americans. The e-spelling is an American variation, and it lands on a German word by coincidence — a reader who knows German sees tomorrow.
Meaningscholars disagree
sea-born, or sea-bright
The Welsh mor, sea, is secure. The second element is read as cant, a circle, or can, bright, or geni, born — and the older form Morcant suggests the first. So the name means something about the sea and something else that has not been settled. The German Morgen, morning, is a completely unrelated word that happens to be spelled the same way.
How the name formed
- Morcant
- Morgan
- Morgen
Related forms: Morgan · Morgan
Pronouncing Morgen
MOR-gun
Two syllables, stress on the first, the second reduced. It is said identically to Morgan; the e changes nothing. German says its own Morgen as MOR-guhn too, which is why the coincidence works.
Nicknames for Morgen
Moderate
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
- 1973
- Most boys named
- 199628 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2679reached in 1996
- Change vs 2021
- +50.0%9 in 2022, from 6
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.
Morgen in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Morgan in Welsh — same name
- Morgan in Breton — related form
Morgens among us
people named Morgen 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
Morgen 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
- The Welsh element behind it is genuine, ancient and still a living word.
- Mo is available and works for a child of either sex.
- It is entirely readable on sight with no ambiguity.
- It works for a child of either sex, which the Welsh tradition supports.
- Morgan is the standard spelling and will be substituted on nearly everything.
- German readers see the word for tomorrow, which is a pleasant accident but an accident.
- Nearly every child given this spelling is a girl, though in Wales the name is a man's.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Morgen to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Morgen? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Morgen
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Morgens are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Morgen are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Morgen in 2025?
- Morgen is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Morgen with classmates?
- Morgen will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Michael#21 · Matthew#32 · Mark#244 · Mason#39 · Martin#335 · Marvin#699 · Melvin#958 · Marcus#258
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Morgen? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Morgen and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle