Megan
Megan is a girls' name of Welsh origin meaning “pearl.” It ranked #889 in the United States in 2025. A Welsh diminutive of Margaret meaning pearl, Megan was one of the most popular names in the English-speaking world in…
how do you pronounce Megan?
MEG-un
Hear it spoken aloud with our AI pronunciation tool.
what does Megan mean?
The name Megan means “pearl.” It comes from the Welsh language tradition.
A Welsh diminutive of Margaret meaning pearl, Megan was one of the most popular names in the English-speaking world in the 1990s and 2000s. Though many forget its Welsh origins, it began as a distinctly Welsh pet form. The name is friendly, warm, and universally accessible.
where does the name Megan come from?
Sources agree Megan originated as a Welsh pet form/diminutive of Margaret; Wikipedia traces Margaret itself through Greek margarités and Latin margarīta to the meaning pearl, matching the table's gloss. Wiktionary separately notes a cognate connection ultimately to an Indo-Iranian source.
the history of Megan
Wikipedia confirms Megan is one of the most popular Welsh-language names for women in Wales and England and is commonly truncated to Meg; the specific claim that it topped English-speaking-world popularity charts in the 1990s-2000s isn't addressed by what's retrieved here.
how popular is this name?
| Year | Rank |
|---|---|
| 2025 | #889 |
| 2024 | #764 |
| 2023 | #694 |
| 2022 | #731 |
| 2021 | #609 |
| 2020 | #640 |
Source: SSA National Baby Names Dataset
what are the nicknames and variants of Megan?
Nicknames
Variants around the world
who are famous people named Megan?
- Megan Rapinoe (US soccer player)
- Megan Fox (American actress)
what names are similar to Megan?
what names go well with Megan?
Sibling names that share Megan's rhythm and register without echoing it too closely.
Last reviewed April 30, 2026 · Curated by HushName editorial
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