How popular is the baby name Meghan in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Meghan.

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Popularity of the baby name Meghan


Posts that mention the name Meghan

Pop culture baby name game, 2018

pop culture baby name game 2018

It’s Elvis Presley’s birthday* — that means it’s time to kick off the annual Pop Culture Baby Name Game!

So how do you play the game? Simply brainstorm for baby names that could have gotten a boost in usage in 2018 thanks to the influence popular culture: movies, music, television, social media, video games, sports, politics, products, trends, etc.

Here are some names we can start with:

  • Araminta – movie, Crazy Rich Asians character
  • Astrid – movie, Crazy Rich Asians character
  • Avicii – music/news, the late Swedish DJ Avicii
  • Banks – celebrity baby (Hilary Duff)
  • Billion – celebrity baby (Rick Ross)
  • Braven – movie, Braven
  • Canon – celebrity baby (Stephen Curry)
  • Cardi – music, rapper Cardi B
  • Carson – sports, Philadelphia Eagles QB Carson Wentz (particularly in PA)
  • Carvena – TV, The Four: Battle for Stardom contestant
  • Chadwick – movie, Black Panther actor
  • Chevel – TV, The Voice contestant
  • Chicago – celebrity baby (Kim Kardashian & Kanye West)
  • Coco – movie, Coco
  • Cress – TV, Black Lightning actor
  • Crew – celebrity baby (Chip & Joanna Gaines)
  • Cullinan – car, Rolls-Royce Cullinan
  • Doria – news, royal wedding (Doria Ragland)
  • Dua – music, singer Dua Lipa
  • Elanese – TV, The Four: Battle for Stardom contestant
  • Ella Mai – music, singer Ella Mai
  • Garrix – music, DJ Martin Garrix
  • Gio – celebrity baby (Adam Levine & Behati Prinsloo)
  • Grayson – news, winter storm Grayson
  • Havana – music, song “Havana”
  • Hayes – celebrity babies (both Jessica Alba and Meghan King Edmonds)
  • Joji – music, singer Joji
  • Jumanji – movie, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
  • Kaavia – celebrity baby (Dwyane Wade & Gabrielle Union)
  • Kane – music, singer Kane Brown**
  • Karamo – TV, Queer Eye expert
  • Keala – music/movie, singer/actress Keala Settle (“This Is Me”)
  • Kiki – music/dance, “In My Feelings” challenge
  • Mahomes – sports, Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes
  • Majeste – TV, The Four: Battle for Stardom contestant
  • Maquia – movie, Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms
  • Meghan – news, royal wedding (Meghan Markle)
  • Mera – movie, Aquaman character
  • Miles – celebrity baby (John Legend & Chrissy Teigen)
  • Nafessa – TV, Black Lightning actress
  • Nakia – movie, Black Panther character
  • Osaka – sports, U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka – suggested by elbowin
  • Qira (Qi’ra) – movie, Solo: A Star Wars Story character
  • Rami – movie, Bohemian Rhapsody actor
  • Ramirez – video game, Fortnite character (female)
  • Reileen – TV, Altered Carbon character
  • Sharaya – TV, The Four: Battle for Stardom contestant
  • Shuri – movie, Black Panther character
  • Storm – movie, A Wrinkle in Time actress
  • Stormi – celebrity baby (Kylie Jenner)
  • Swae – music, rapper Swae Lee
  • Takeshi – TV, Altered Carbon character
  • T’challa – movie, Black Panther character
  • True – celebrity baby (Khloe Kardashian)
  • Tully – movie, Tully
  • Velar – car, Range Rover Velar
  • Venom – movie, Venom
  • Villanelle – TV, Killing Eve character
  • Wade – movies, both Ready Player One and Deadpool 2 characters
  • Xolo – Web TV, Cobra Kai actor
  • Yanny – news, the Yanny/Laurel audio clip – suggested by elbowin
  • Zhavia – TV, The Four: Battle for Stardom contestant
  • Zaytoven – music, producer Zaytoven
  • Zaxai – TV, The Voice contestant
  • Zazie – movie, Deadpool 2 actress

What other names should be on this list? Let me know by commenting below. And don’t forget to mention the pop culture influence!

I’ll post the game results in May of 2019, a few days after the SSA releases the 2018 baby name data.

If you don’t want to miss the results post, just subscribe to NBN so that you’ll be notified once it’s out.

*Elvis would have been 84 today.
**The first baby born in Richland County, OH, in 2019 was named after Kane Brown.

Name quotes #58: Ailsa, Kikkan, Rose

double quotation mark

About the choosing of Ailsa, the first name of the daughter of gold-medal winning Olympic curler Joe Polo:

Both her parents were curlers, members of a tight-knit sport where an intense reverence for the game tends to bleed over into the players’ personal lives. And so it was only natural that Joe and Kristin Polo decided to name their future daughter Ailsa, after the Scottish island where the granite that makes curling rocks is mined.

(Ailsa Craig is an uninhabited islet located about 10 miles off the coast of southwestern Scotland. “Ailsa” may derive from the Old Irish word ail, meaning “rock.”)

About the coining of Kikkan, the first name of gold-medal winning Olympic cross-country skier Kikkan Randall:

After Randall’s birth on Dec. 31, 1982, Ronn wanted to name her Kikki, after Kiki Cutter, the first American skier, male or female, to win a race in a World Cup event, a slalom in 1968. Deborah preferred Meghan. They compromised on Kikkan.

(Kiki Cutter = Christina “Kiki” Cutter.)

From an article about Rose Collom in True West Magazine:

Rose was the perfect name for the Grand Canyon’s first official botanist, because self-taught Rose Collom blossomed when exposed to the state’s flora.
…
Rose discovered several varieties of plants previously unknown, and each was named after her.

For more quotes about names, check out the name quotes category.

Pop culture baby name game results, 2015

Here are the results of Pop Culture Baby Name Game 2015!

Quick disclaimer: Some of these names were already on the rise. Others were likely influenced by multiple pop culture events/people (not just the one listed). So I leave it up to you to judge the degree/nature of pop culture influence for yourself.

Adaline, +737 [ranked 11th on the list of raw-number increases for girl names]

  • Up from 164 baby girls in 2014 to 901 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the movie The Age of Adaline (2015).

Abel, +659 [ranked 12th on the list of raw-number increases for boy names]

  • Up from 2,557 baby boys in 2014 to 3,216 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: singer Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (stage name The Weeknd).

Finn, +301 [ranked 47th on the list of raw-number increases for boy names]

  • Up from 1,580 baby boys in 2014 to 1,881 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).

Taya, +180

  • Up from 93 baby girls in 2014 to 273 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the movie American Sniper (2014).

Lucille, +142

  • Up from 970 baby girls in 2014 to 1,112 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the death of B. B. King (whose guitars were all called “Lucille”).

Margot, +126

  • Up from 377 baby girls in 2014 to 503 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: actress Margot Robbie.

Atticus, +106

  • Up from 852 baby boys in 2014 to 958 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the book Go Set a Watchman (2015).

Canaan, +104

  • Up from 179 baby girls in 2014 to 283 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the news of Oprah Winfrey’s son, Canaan.

Hakeem, +87

  • Up from 72 baby boys in 2014 to 159 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the TV show Empire (2015-).

Annalise, +78

  • Up from 699 baby boys in 2014 to 777 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the TV show How to Get Away with Murder (2014-).

Lola, +57

  • Up from 1,386 baby girls in 2014 to 1,443 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the TV show Empire (2015-).

Arlo, +54

  • Up from 518 baby boys in 2014 to 572 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the movie The Good Dinosaur (2015).

Carter, +53

  • Up from 10,674 baby boys in 2014 to 10,727 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: unsure (suggested in the comments).

Carli, +36

  • Up from 110 baby girls in 2014 to 146 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: soccer player Carli Lloyd.

Margo, +36

  • Up from 152 baby girls in 2014 to 188 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the movie Paper Towns (2015). Or, of course, Margot Robbie.

Bjorn, +35

  • Up from 63 baby boys in 2014 to 98 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the TV show Vikings.

Roland, +32

  • Up from 437 baby boys in 2014 to 469 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the movie By The Sea (2015).

Taraji, +30

  • Up from 200 baby girls in 2014 to 230 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the TV show Empire (2015-).

Adonis, +29

  • Up from 327 baby boys in 2014 to 356 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the movie Creed (2015).

Sullivan (as a boy name), +29

  • Up from 631 baby boys in 2014 to 660 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: actor Sullivan Stapleton.

Joy, +28

  • Up from 692 baby girls in 2014 to 720 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the movie Inside Out (2015).

Kylo, +27

  • Up from 8 baby boys in 2014 to 35 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).

Alex (as a girl name), +25

  • Up from 160 baby girls in 2014 to 185 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: soccer player Alex Morgan.

Rebel, +25 (as a girl name), -3 (as a boy name)

  • Up from 58 baby girls in 2014 to 83 in 2015.
  • Down from 48 baby boys in 2014 to 45 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the Confederate flag debate.
  • Update, 5/12/16: The state-by-state data was just released. Of the 83 baby girls named Rebel, 12 were born in Texas, 9 in California, 8 in Arkansas and 6 in Oklahoma. Of the 45 boys, 7 were born in Texas and 5 in Tennessee.

Meghan, +24

  • Up from 214 baby girls in 2014 to 238 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: soccer player Meghan Klingenberg.

Lucious, +18

  • Up from 19 baby boys in 2014 to 37 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the TV show Empire (2015-).

Christie, +15

  • Up from 31 baby girls in 2014 to 46 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: soccer player Christie Rampone.

Tobin (as a girl name), re-entered with 14

  • After an absence, returned to the list with 14 baby girls.
  • Pop culture influence: soccer player Tobin Heath.

Alessia, +13

  • Up from 200 baby girls in 2014 to 213 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: singer Alessia Cara.

Lyon, +13

  • Up from 29 baby boys in 2014 to 42 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the TV show Empire (2015-).

Kelsea, +12

  • Up from 35 baby girls in 2014 to 47 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: country singer Kelsea Ballerini.

Gigi, +11

  • Up from 27 baby girls in 2014 to 38 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: model Gigi Hadid.

Ragnar, +11

  • Up from 19 baby boys in 2014 to 30 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the TV show Vikings.

Rollo, re-entered with 10

  • After an absence, returned to the list with 10 baby boys.
  • Pop culture influence: the TV show Vikings.

Max (as a girl name), +9

  • Up from 14 baby girls in 2014 to 23 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: Maxima “Max” Chan Zuckerberg, daughter of Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan.

Poe, re-entered with 9

  • After an absence, returned to the list with 9 baby boys.
  • Pop culture influence: the movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).

Denali, +8 (as a boy name) and +7 (as a girl name)

  • Up from 20 baby boys in 2014 to 28 in 2015.
  • Up from 55 baby girls in 2014 to 62 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the renaming of Denali.

Bindi, re-entered with 8

  • After an absence, returned to the list with 8 baby girls.
  • Pop culture influence: Dancing with the Stars contestant Bindi Irwin.

Eilis, re-entered with 6

  • After an absence, returned to the list with 6 baby girls.
  • Pop culture influence: the movie Brooklyn (2015).

Trai, re-entered with 6

  • After an absence, returned to the list with 6 baby boys.
  • Pop culture influence: the TV show Empire (2015-).

Becky, +5

  • Up from 53 baby girls in 2014 to 58 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: soccer player Becky Sauerbrunn.

Bernie, +5

  • Up from 6 baby boys in 2014 to 11 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

Saint, +5

  • Up from 32 baby boys in 2014 to 37 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: Saint West, son of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian.

Serra, +5

  • Up from 12 baby girls in 2014 to 17 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: the canonization of Junipero Serra.

Taron, +4

  • Up from 31 baby boys in 2014 to 35 in 2015.
  • Pop culture influence: actor Taron Egerton.

Names that went down:

Names not on the SSA’s list in 2015:

  • Aslaug
  • Bryshere
  • Cookie
  • Dameron
  • DuVernay
  • Empire
  • Furiosa
  • Halsey
  • Jeralean
  • Junipero
  • Jussie
  • Lagertha
  • Rey (as a girl name)
  • Sonoya
  • Trump

Did any of these surprise you?

P.S. Some of the names from the 2014 game that have started/continued to do well: Hazel, Amal, Tauriel, and Wyatt (as a girl name). Elsa and Anna, on the other hand, both saw drops in usage.

Biggest changes in girl name popularity, 2013

Which girl names increased/decreased the most in popularity from 2012 to 2013?

Below are two versions of each list. My version looks at raw number differences and takes all 19,114 girl names on the 2013 list into account. The SSA’s version looks at ranking differences and covers roughly the top 1,000 girl names.

Biggest Increases

Raw Numbers (Nancy’s list)Rankings (SSA’s list)
  1. Sadie, +2,031 babies (2,583 to 4,614)
  2. Aria, +1,862 (3,223 to 5,085)
  3. Charlotte, +1,773 (7,459 to 9,232)
  4. Penelope, +1,732 (2,526 to 4,258)
  5. Sofia, +1,300 (7,808 to 9,108)
  6. Mia, +1088 (11,978 to 13,066)
  7. Harper, +1046 (7,176 to 8,222)
  8. Mila, +1027 (2,634 to 3,661)
  9. Olivia, +1003 (17,253 to 18,256)
  10. Scarlett, +994 (4,037 to 5,031)
  11. Kendra, +913 (800 to 1,713)
  12. Avery, +818 (8,303 to 9,121)
  13. Ariana, +816 (3,568 to 4,384)
  14. Evelyn, +751 (6,865 to 7,616)
  15. Amelia, +746 (7,233 to 7,979)
  16. Jaylah, +683 (676 to 1,359)
  17. Nicole, +679 (2,646 to 3,325)
  18. Paisley, +671 (2,913 to 3,584)
  19. Valentina, +642 (1,900 to 2,542)
  20. Violet, +629 (3,266 to 3,895)
  21. Eleanor, +618 (2,368 to 2,986)
  22. Nora, +600 (2,882 to 3,482)
  23. Kennedy, +555 (3,377 to 3,932)
  24. Caroline, +547 (3,408 to 3,955)
  25. Alexia, +530 (1,283 to 1,813)
  1. Daleyza, +3,130 spots (3,715th to 585th)
  2. Marjorie, +735 (1,645th to 910th)
  3. Lennon, +700 (1,623rd to 923rd)
  4. Jurnee, +571 (1,467th to 896th)
  5. Everleigh, +538 (1,403rd to 865th)
  6. Everly, +524 (907th to 383rd)
  7. Henley, +478 (1,309th to 831st)
  8. Freya, +395 (1,303rd to 908th)
  9. Neriah, +392 (1,346th to 954th)
  10. Oakley, +340 (1,268th to 928th)
  11. Mabel, +338 (1,045th to 707th)
  12. Hadlee, +326 (1,215th to 889th)
  13. Gwyneth, +297 (1,183rd to 886th)
  14. Emerie, +294 (1,234th to 940th)
  15. Dallas, +292 (902nd to 610th)
  16. Saige, +282 (931st to 649th)
  17. Azalea, +269 (900th to 631st)
  18. Hunter, +266 (1,196th to 930th)
  19. Kaidence, +266 (1,245th to 979th)
  20. India, +240 (1,212th to 972nd)
  21. Rosie, +235 (1,118th to 883rd)
  22. Juniper, +227 (875th to 648th)
  23. Jaylah, +226 (460th to 234th)
  24. Saylor, +217 (1,123rd to 906th)
  25. Kora, +216 (974th to 758th)

Check out Sadie! I wasn’t expecting to see that name here. Unlike Penelope, which I was expecting to see here.

Harper, Aria, Charlotte — still going strong. And Paisley’s back, though the rise has slowed: 3rd in 2012, 18th in 2013.

Does anyone have a theory on Jaylah?

(The SSA broadened the scope of their analysis this year — top 500 to top 1,000 — which is great, but it makes direct comparisons between this year’s list and last year’s impossible.)

Biggest Decreases

Raw Numbers (Nancy’s list)Rankings (SSA’s list)
  1. Isabella, -1,536 babies (19,026 to 17,490)
  2. Sophia, -1,170 (22,245 to 21,075)
  3. Lily, -998 (7,933 to 6,935)
  4. Chloe, -914 (9,628 to 8,714)
  5. Hailey, -903 (5,897 to 4,994)
  6. Alyssa, -900 (5,069 to 4,169)
  7. Sophie, -851 (4,561 to 3,710)
  8. Madison, -831 (11,360 to 10,529)
  9. Ella, -794 (9,164 to 8,370)
  10. Ashley, -776 (4,689 to 3,913)
  11. Brianna, -748 (4,617 to 3,869)
  12. Taylor, -739 (4,847 to 4,108)
  13. Khloe, -645 (4,299 to 3,654)
  14. Nevaeh, -629 (5,345 to 4,716)
  15. Alexis, -591 (5,332 to 4,741)
  16. Emily, -562 (13,606 to 13,044)
  17. Sarah, -523 (5,158 to 4,635)
  18. Kaylee, -521 (5,600 to 5,079)
  19. Kayla, -512 (3,748 to 3,236)
  20. Zoe, -501 (6,421 to 5,920)
  21. Makayla, -498 (3,756 to 3,258)
  22. Addison, -482 (8,159 to 7,677)
  23. Vanessa, -463 (2,548 to 2,085)
  24. Samantha, -454 (6,907 to 6,453)
  25. Natalie, -450 (7,880 to 7,430)
  1. Litzy, -825 spots (597th to 1422nd)
  2. Geraldine, -412 (990th to 1,402nd)
  3. Marisa, -389 (978th to 1,367th)
  4. Taraji, -382 (859th to 1,241st)
  5. Adley, -370 (735th to 1,105th)
  6. Jazzlyn, -343 (955th to 1,298th)
  7. Maritza, -304 (840th to 1,144th)
  8. Izabelle, -299 (984th to 1,283rd)
  9. Jaqueline, -246 (905th to 1,151st)
  10. Abbie, -226 (791st to 1,017th)
  11. Kenia, -221 (643rd to 864th)
  12. Larissa, -219 (857th to 1076th)
  13. Perla, -216 (452nd to 668th)
  14. Haylie, -213 (894th to 1,107th)
  15. Kendal, -208 (851st to 1,059th)
  16. Ryann, -204 (790th to 994th)
  17. Jayde, -201 (784th to 985th)
  18. Carissa, -199 (958th to 1,157th)
  19. Jessa, -197 (991st to 1,188th)
  20. Meghan, 196 (883rd to 1,079th)
  21. Jakayla, -186 (933rd to 1,119th)
  22. Saanvi, -183 (901st to 1,084th)
  23. Kaitlin, -180 (838th to 1,018th)
  24. Brisa, -179 (912th to 1,091st)
  25. Kyndal, -178 (981st to 1,159th)

Newbie losers on the left-hand side include Sophia (still the #1 name despite the decrease), Lily, Hailey and Sophie.

Winners/losers in years past:

  • 2012: Harper/Chloe, or Arya/Dulce
  • 2011: Harper/Isabella
  • 2010: Sophia/Madison

Source: Change in Popularity from 2012 to 2013

U.S. Baby Names 2013: Most popular names, Top girl-name debuts, Top boy-name debuts, Biggest girl-name changes, Biggest boy-name changes, Top first letters, Top lengths, Top girl names by letter, Top boy names by letter