Maeghan

Meaning & origin

Maeghan is a modern respelling of Megan, a name with ancient roots. While Megan has been widely popular, Maeghan appeared in U.S. records only in 1976, reflecting a trend of phonetic or stylistic variations. Its peak year was 1990, but it has never ranked in the top 1,000 names. The trajectory since the 1990s has been stable, with very few births per year. The spelling with 'ae' (rather than the more common 'e' or 'ea') makes it a distinctive choice, but it remains very rare, never reaching a one-in-N rate high enough to appear in national statistics. No top states are recorded for this name, as its usage has been too sparse to aggregate. For parents seeking a familiar sound with an uncommon spelling, Maeghan offers a creative alternative to Megan while preserving the gentle, feminine quality of the original.

Maeghan is a modern respelling of Megan, which itself is a Welsh diminutive of Margaret. Margaret ultimately derives from the Greek margarites, meaning 'pearl.' The spelling with 'ae' may reflect a fashionable trend of altering traditional names with digraphs. The name first appeared in U.S. records in 1976 and saw modest use through the 1990s.