Regan
Masculine · “Descendant of Riagán”
Regan is given to both — 3,746 boys and 16,307 girls since 1880. See Regan as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Regan is an Irish surname, a Shakespearean villain and a horror film all at once, and the three have nothing to do with each other. The Irish is the oldest: Ó Riagáin, the descendant of Riagán, a family of the Ui Neill.
How old is the name Regan?
Regan first appears in US birth records in 1920 — 105 years ago. The typical Regan alive today was born around 1989, making them about 36 years old. About 3,400 people named Regan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Regan most popular?
Regan peaked in 1964, reaching #815 nationally. Today it ranks #5399, 4,584 places below that high. See the whole 1964 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Ó Riagáin to Regan
The story of Regan
The Ó Riagáin were an Irish family of Meath and Laois, kin to the O'Neills, and the surname spread widely with emigration, giving the American Reagan and Regan. Shakespeare's Regan is the middle daughter of King Lear, and her name comes from the British legendary material. The Exorcist, released in 1973, has a possessed girl called Regan. As an American boys' given name it belongs to the surname fashion and peaks in 1964, before either of the latter two associations was current; the girls' use is later and larger.
Meaningscholars disagree
Descendant of Riagán
From Irish Ó Riagáin, from the personal name Riagán. That name's meaning is not settled: a connection to ríogán, a little king, from rí, king, is the usual proposal and is contested; an origin in a word for impulsiveness has also been offered. The Shakespearean Regan in King Lear is separately drawn from Geoffrey of Monmouth's Britain and is not the Irish name.
How the name formed
- Ó Riagáin
- Regan
Related forms: Ó Riagáin · Reagan
Pronouncing Regan
REE-gun
Two syllables, stress on the first. The Reagan spelling is said both REE-gun and RAY-gun, and the president used the second; Regan is generally the first.
Nicknames for Regan
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
- 1920
- Most boys named
- 197989 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #815reached in 1964
- Change vs 2023
- −43.3%17 in 2025, from 30
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.
Regan in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ó Riagáin in Irish — related form
- Reagan in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, California, Texas.
Regans among us
people named Regan are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 100,475 born in 2025 was named Regan
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 Burnell test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Regan's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Burnell climbed just as high around 1920, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Burnell's path sketches the road Regan is walking now.
Regan 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
Regan beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Regan in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is a genuine Irish surname with a documented family behind it.
- Reg works as an ordinary short form.
- Everyone can say it after one hearing.
- The Exorcist is a strong association for anyone who saw it.
- Regan in King Lear is one of the play's two villainous daughters.
- It is now used more for girls than for boys in America.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Regan 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 Regan? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Regan
Masculine · #5399 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Regans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,400 people named Regan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Regan in 2025?
- Regan ranks #5399 among US boy names in 2025, with 17 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Regan?
- About 1 in every 100,475 US boys born in 2025 was named Regan — 17 in all.
- Will my child share the name Regan with classmates?
- Regan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Regan
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Frazier#5399 · Franz#5399 · Demetrio#5399 · Rolan#5399 · Rayvon#5399 · Riddick#5399 · Laramie#5399 · Soloman#5399
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Regan? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Regan 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