Meaghan

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Meaghan: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Meaghan: Recorded since 1988, it reached #227 in 1999, and it was last ranked in 2017.

3registrars recorded it
41times a registrar ranked it
30years from first to last
#227highest recorded position
9groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2014

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#1168
1997	#1958
1998	#1076
1999	#2189
2000	#1594
2001	#2466
2002	#2868
2003	#4373
2004	#2802
2005	#4798
2009	#4564
2011	#3549
2012	#2717
2014	#4684

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Republic of Ireland in 19 of the 30 years from 1988 to 2017.

In 2011: #363 among girls in Northern Ireland, #937 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #3549 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 3 national registrars across 3 regions, 1988–2017 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1988
First recorded at #492 among girls in Republic of Ireland in 1988 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Girls
Highest recorded1997–2011
Highest recorded position: #227 among girls in Northern Ireland, in 1999 (recorded 1997–2011).
Northern Ireland · Girls
Most recent2017
Most recently recorded at #873 among girls in Republic of Ireland, in 2017.
Republic of Ireland · Girls

Meaghan appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, which has ranked it in 19 years beginning in 1988, and has registered 82 births with the name.

Meaghan across 3 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Meaghan's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#492 (1988)	#356 (1996)	#873 (2017)	19 of 30	82 (1988–2017)	7 (1996)
England and Wales · Girls	#1168 (1996)	#1076 (1998)	#4684 (2014)	14 of 19	107 (1996–2014)	19 (1998)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#271 (1997)	#227 (1999)	#363 (2011)	8 of 15	32 (1997–2011)	6 (1999)

Meaghan by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Meaghan in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1980s	3	1 of 10	3
1990sbusiest	36	8 of 10	5
2000s	32	7 of 10	5
2010s	11	3 of 10	4

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 1990s were its busiest decade — the 8 years of it this list covers, averaging 5 births a year.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Meaghan appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 3 regions, from 1988 to 2017. Highest recorded position: #227 in Northern Ireland in 1999.

Meaghan's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2014	England and Wales	female	#4684	4	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#2717	9	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#3549	6	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#4564	4	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#4798	3	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#2802	6	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#4373	3	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#2868	5	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#2466	6	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#1594	11	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#2189	7	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#1076	19	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#1958	8	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#1168	16	High	Verified
2011	Northern Ireland	female	#363	4	High	Verified
2009	Northern Ireland	female	#364	4	High	Verified
2007	Northern Ireland	female	#413	3	High	Verified
2004	Northern Ireland	female	#372	3	High	Verified
2002	Northern Ireland	female	#286	4	High	Verified
2001	Northern Ireland	female	#343	3	High	Verified
1999	Northern Ireland	female	#227	6	High	Verified
1997	Northern Ireland	female	#271	5	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	female	#873	3	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	female	#937	3	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	female	#663	5	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	female	#742	4	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	female	#705	4	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	female	#502	6	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	female	#677	3	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	female	#403	7	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	female	#512	4	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	female	#498	4	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	female	#363	7	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	female	#356	7	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	female	#516	3	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	female	#450	4	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	female	#448	4	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	female	#456	4	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	female	#457	4	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	female	#517	3	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	female	#492	3	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 3 registrars between 1988 and 2017, ranked in 25 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #227, first reached in 1999.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 19 births, registered in England and Wales in 1998.

Its record falls into 5 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 2 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 9 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Meadow · #159, 28y
Meagan · #295, 33y
Meah · #330, 19y
Meara · #328, 8y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 3 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Aleesha · #227, 29y
Chelsie · #227, 27y
Seanna · #227, 26y
Ralphie · #226, 23y

Also first recorded in the 1980s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1980 and 1989.

Kristopher · #227, 37y
Siomha · #228, 16y
Kirstin · #229, 18y
Roxanne · #229, 36y

Meaghan was ranked #227 in Northern Ireland · Girls in 1999. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Meaghan and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Meaghan without appearing here.

Meaghan moved ahead of

Vicki Compare
In 2011 they stood at #4798 and #3970 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2012 that had become #2717 and #5876.
Carol Compare
In 2011 they stood at #3549 and #2893 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2012 that had become #2717 and #4838.
Tracey Compare
In 2011 they stood at #3549 and #2893 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2012 that had become #2717 and #4838.
Helene Compare
In 2010 they stood at #4564 and #3422 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2011 that had become #3549 and #4049.

Moved ahead of Meaghan

Ezra Compare
In 2013 they stood at #2717 and #2969 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2014 that had become #4684 and #1628.
Janice Compare
In 2002 they stood at #2868 and #3409 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2003 that had become #4373 and #1722.
Luca Compare
In 2013 they stood at #2717 and #3285 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2014 that had become #4684 and #2203.
Meabh Compare
In 2013 they stood at #2717 and #5876 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2014 that had become #4684 and #2314.

Moved the opposite way to Meaghan

Abigail Compare
Between 1988 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meaghan went from #492 to #873 while Abigail went from #359 to #62.
Alexandra Compare
Between 1988 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meaghan went from #492 to #873 while Alexandra went from #222 to #111.
Alice Compare
Between 1988 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meaghan went from #492 to #873 while Alice went from #122 to #35.
Anna Compare
Between 1988 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meaghan went from #492 to #873 while Anna went from #69 to #12.

Moved the same way as Meaghan

Alma Compare
Between 1988 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meaghan went from #492 to #873 and Alma from #280 to #579.
Angela Compare
Between 1988 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meaghan went from #492 to #873 and Angela from #125 to #396.
Aoife Compare
Between 1988 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meaghan went from #492 to #873 and Aoife from #10 to #17.
Audrey Compare
Between 1988 and 2017 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Meaghan went from #492 to #873 and Audrey from #116 to #471.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 3 regions, from 1988 to 2017. Highest recorded position: #227 in Northern Ireland in 1999. Source data last verified 2026-07-22.

Meaghan

Meaghan at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Meaghan across 3 official records

Meaghan by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Meaghan appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1980s

Names published alongside Meaghan

Meaghan and the names beside it

Meaghan moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Meaghan

Moved the opposite way to Meaghan

Moved the same way as Meaghan

Meaghan at a glance

Meaghan across 3 official records

Meaghan by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Meaghan appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1980s

Names published alongside Meaghan

Meaghan and the names beside it

Meaghan moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Meaghan

Moved the opposite way to Meaghan

Moved the same way as Meaghan