Unisex name ★ peaked 1995

Morgan

Meaning sea Gender Unisex · 83% girls Rank 2025 #312 Trend ↓ Falling 29%

from Old Welsh Morcant, possibly from *mor (“sea”) (Welsh môr) or *mọr (“great”) (Old Welsh maur) + *kantos (“circle”) (Welsh cant), meaning “great chief” or “sea chief”.

Rank 2025
#312
among girls · ↓35 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,509
named Morgan · -11% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,645
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1995
12,135 babies
All-time total
269,269
#180 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Morgan popularity over time

269,269 babies have been named Morgan since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
1.883.755.637.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 252 252 25 – –
1890s – 255 255 26 +1% –
1900s – 257 257 26 +1% –
1910s 5 1,184 1,189 119 +363% #5,357
1920s – 1,527 1,527 153 +28% –
1930s 5 1,200 1,205 121 -21% #4,727
1940s 22 1,274 1,296 130 +8% #3,162
1950s 110 1,768 1,878 188 +45% #2,492
1960s 354 2,445 2,799 280 +49% #1,513
1970s 1,569 3,329 4,898 490 +75% #459
1980s 24,287 7,206 31,493 3,149 +543% #69
1990s 91,196 10,100 101,296 10,130 +222% #22
2000s 70,746 7,848 78,594 7,859 -22% #25
2010s 27,641 4,001 31,642 3,164 -60% #63
2020s (to 2025) 7,691 2,997 10,688 1,781 -44% #195

Where Morgan is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 920 0.57 #335
2027 874 0.54 #348
2028 837 0.52 #366
2029 807 0.50 #379
2030 782 0.49 #398

Where Morgan is most popular

Girls named Morgan per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.764 per 1,000. Strongest in New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Connecticut.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Morgan born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
New Hampshire 43 2.33 +205%
South Dakota 25 1.75 +129%
Connecticut 95 1.63 +114%
Michigan 278 1.53 +100%
Massachusetts 175 1.45 +89%
Minnesota 141 1.31 +71%
Alaska 11 1.28 +67%
Maryland 135 1.27 +67%
Wisconsin 131 1.27 +66%
Mississippi 58 1.24 +62%
Pennsylvania 291 1.23 +61%
Oregon 80 1.23 +61%
Missouri 148 1.23 +61%
Colorado 134 1.20 +57%
Montana 16 1.18 +55%
District of Columbia 14 1.18 +55%
Wyoming 5 1.17 +53%
New Mexico 28 1.15 +51%
North Dakota 15 1.14 +49%
New Jersey 200 1.11 +45%
West Virginia 29 1.11 +45%
South Carolina 99 1.10 +44%
Alabama 102 1.09 +42%
Iowa 63 1.08 +41%
Ohio 252 1.06 +39%
Arkansas 56 1.06 +39%
Utah 88 1.06 +38%
Illinois 242 1.06 +38%
Vermont 5 1.03 +35%
Washington 148 1.02 +34%
North Carolina 232 1.02 +33%
Idaho 34 1.02 +33%
Kansas 57 0.988 +29%
Georgia 222 0.977 +28%
Virginia 166 0.974 +27%
Nevada 44 0.947 +24%
Indiana 125 0.890 +17%
Kentucky 71 0.830 +9%
Oklahoma 60 0.815 +7%
Louisiana 69 0.788 ≈ national
Tennessee 124 0.783 ≈ national
New York 306 0.773 ≈ national
Arizona 103 0.734 ≈ national
California 566 0.673 -12%
Florida 264 0.617 -19%
Texas 492 0.612 -20%
Nebraska 20 0.556 -27%
Hawaii 5 0.436 -43%
Maine 5 0.323 -58%
Delaware – – –
Rhode Island – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Morgan

Morgan is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #312 in 2025 with 977 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 269,269 American babies have been named Morgan, about 83% girls and 17% boys, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 1995, when 12,135 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1990s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Morgan stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Morgan?

The median living Morgan is about 26 years old; half are between 19 and 32. An estimated 259 thousand people named Morgan are alive in the United States today.

median 26 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Morgan year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 977 #312 532 #559
2024 1,144 #277 561 #531
2023 1,249 #247 532 #550
2022 1,383 #215 550 #540
2021 1,447 #205 455 #611
2020 1,491 #195 367 #695
2019 1,651 #176 334 #729
2018 1,759 #163 320 #743
2017 1,929 #153 370 #680
2016 2,339 #132 410 #643
2015 2,689 #121 381 #671
2014 3,006 #102 404 #652
2013 3,116 #100 367 #660
2012 3,403 #82 441 #583
2011 3,672 #75 475 #539
2010 4,077 #63 499 #519
2009 4,611 #57 592 #460
2008 5,333 #46 714 #416
2007 5,665 #43 729 #404
2006 6,495 #35 821 #365
2005 6,749 #33 901 #334
2004 7,295 #31 1,011 #310
2003 7,928 #29 748 #361
2002 8,433 #29 709 #372
2001 8,735 #29 784 #349
2000 9,502 #25 839 #332
1995 10,877 #23 1,258 #236
1990 6,047 #58 936 #278
1985 2,283 #127 682 #298
1980 1,061 #244 702 #292
1975 114 #1,045 282 #476
1970 75 #1,401 336 #449
1965 44 #1,709 207 #536
1960 26 #2,354 250 #500
1955 16 #2,924 197 #520
1950 – – 121 #624
1945 – – 112 #574
1940 – – 130 #507
1935 – – 131 #498
1930 – – 108 #577
1925 – – 160 #480
1920 – – 160 #481
1915 – – 136 #474
1910 – – 45 #391
1905 – – 30 #387
1900 – – 31 #410
1895 – – 26 #378
1890 – – 23 #375
1885 – – 26 #338
1880 – – 33 #288

Famous people named Morgan

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman American actor and producer (born 1937) Contemporary
  2. 2 Morgan Spurlock Morgan Spurlock American filmmaker (1970–2024) Contemporary
  3. 3 Morgan Fairchild Morgan Fairchild American actress (born 1950) Contemporary
  4. 4 Morgan Gibbs-White Morgan Gibbs-White English footballer (born 2000) Contemporary
  5. 5 Morgan Saylor Morgan Saylor American actress b. 1994 · Contemporary
  6. 6 Morgan Woodward Morgan Woodward American actor (1925–2019) Contemporary
  7. 7 Morgan Brittany Morgan Brittany American actress (born 1951) Contemporary
  8. 8 Morgan Lily American actress and model b. 2000 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Morgan York American novelist, podcaster and former child actress b. 1993 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Morgan Tsvangirai Morgan Tsvangirai Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, 2000 to 2013 1952–2018 · Contemporary
  11. 11 Morgan Robertson Morgan Robertson American writer (died 1915) 1861–1915 · 19th century
  12. 12 Morgan Sanson Morgan Sanson French association football player (born 1994) Contemporary
  13. 13 Morgan Nicholls Morgan Nicholls British musician b. 1971 · Contemporary
  14. 14 Morgan De Sanctis Morgan De Sanctis Italian former professional footballer b. 1977 · Contemporary
  15. 15 Morgan Amalfitano Morgan Amalfitano French footballer (born 1985) Contemporary
  16. 16 Morgan Taylor Morgan Taylor American hurdler (1903–1975) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Morgan, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Morgan?

The median living Morgan is about 26 years old. Half of all living Morgans are between 19 and 32 years old.

How many people named Morgan are alive today?

An estimated 259 thousand people named Morgan are alive in the United States, based on 269,269 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Morgan mean?

from Old Welsh Morcant, possibly from *mor (“sea”) (Welsh môr) or *mọr (“great”) (Old Welsh maur) + *kantos (“circle”) (Welsh cant), meaning “great chief” or “sea chief”.

How popular is the name Morgan in 2025?

Morgan ranked #312 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 977 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Morgan?

269,269 babies have been named Morgan in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Morgan most popular?

Morgan peaked in 1995, when 12,135 newborns received the name.

Is Morgan a boy or girl name?

Morgan is used for both: about 83% of babies named Morgan have been girls and 17% boys.

Is the name Morgan rising or falling?

Morgan is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Morgan become more popular?

Morgan is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 782 girls named Morgan in 2030, which would rank around #398. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Morgan?

Well-known people named Morgan include Morgan Freeman (actor), Morgan Spurlock (film director), Morgan Fairchild (actor).

Names like Morgan

Names that sound and feel close to Morgan: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Morgan with similar names → More names starting with M →