Reegan
Feminine · “Little king”
Reegan is given to both — 1,178 girls and 351 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
There are two names here and they are not related. Reagan is an Irish surname, from a family that ruled part of Leinster before the Normans arrived; Regan is a character in King Lear, taken by Shakespeare from a chronicle. The American name blends them and the doubled e settles a vowel that the Irish spelling leaves open.
How old is the name Reegan?
Reegan first appears in US birth records in 1990 — 35 years ago. The typical Reegan alive today was born around 2008, making them about 17 years old. About 1,200 people named Reegan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Reegan most popular?
Reegan peaked in 2012, reaching #2356 nationally. See the whole 2012 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From O Riagain to Reegan
Our story of Reegan
The Irish name has a first vowel that English cannot pin down: written with an e or an ea, it has been said with the vowel of ray and with the vowel of reed on both sides of the Atlantic, and the spelling gives no guidance because Irish marks length with an accent that English drops. Doubling the e removes the ambiguity in the only way English has, since ee is the one vowel spelling in the language with a single possible reading. That is a real repair rather than a decoration. What it does not do is separate the name from the character in the play, who is one of two sisters who put their father out in a storm and whose name has been in print for four hundred years; families who want the Irish name are frequently asked about the other one.
Meaningscholars disagree
Little king, or impulsive
The Irish surname is generally read as a diminutive of a word meaning a king or an impulse; the two readings have both been defended and neither has won. The Shakespearean character's name has a separate origin in a medieval history of Britain and no agreed meaning at all. The name in American use draws on both without settling either.
How the name formed
- O Riagain
- Reagan
- Reegan
Related forms: O Riagain
Pronouncing Reegan
REE-gun
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The doubled e fixes the first vowel as a long e, where the standard spellings leave a genuine choice between that and the vowel of ray.
Nicknames for Reegan
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
- 1990
- Most girls named
- 200980 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2356reached in 2012
- Change vs 2022
- −33.3%6 in 2023, from 9
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.
Reegan in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- O Riagain in Irish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Wisconsin, Michigan.
Reegans among us
people named Reegan 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
Reegan 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 doubled e settles a pronunciation that the other spellings leave open.
- It works for a child of either sex, which the record confirms.
- Short, firm and easy to say once the vowel is fixed.
- The record carries it for boys as well as girls, so it signals nothing on a form.
- Reagan and Regan are both commoner and will be substituted.
- The Shakespearean character is not a pleasant one and the association is easy to reach.
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What they receive
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Reegan
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Reegans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,200 people named Reegan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Reegan in 2025?
- Reegan is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Reegan with classmates?
- Reegan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More R names
The most-given names starting with R, all years combined.
Ruth#173 · Rebecca#349 · Rachel#250 · Rose#114 · Ruby#64 · Robin#704 · Rita#1285 · Rhonda#6116
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Reegan? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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