Meagan

About Meagan

Meagan is a spelling of Megan, the Welsh diminutive of Margaret, and shares its meaning “pearl.” Pronounced MEG-un, it keeps the familiar two-syllable sound while giving it a longer written form. Figure skater Meagan Duhamel and actor Meagan Good provide recognizable examples of this particular spelling in sport and film.

Meaning and related forms

The name's history begins with Margaret, which reached European languages through Latin Margarita from Greek margarites, meaning “pearl.” Megan developed as a Welsh familiar form of Margaret. Meagan is a later spelling variant of Megan, rather than a separate name with an independent ancient meaning.

Megan became regularly used beyond Wales in the middle of the twentieth century. Its growing international visibility was accompanied by several spellings, including Meghan, Meaghan, Maegan, and Meagan. These forms belong to the same name family, although their proportions differ considerably in American birth records.

Meg is another established short form in the Margaret family. Margaret provides the fuller historical connection, while Megan and Meagan preserve a shorter, more conversational rhythm. The extra a in Meagan does not normally add a third syllable or change the first syllable to MAY.

Meagan Duhamel on the ice

Canadian pair skater Meagan Duhamel supplies one of the name's clearest sporting connections. She formed her partnership with Eric Radford in 2010 after previously competing with Craig Buntin. Duhamel also brought experience as a singles skater to pairs, a discipline combining individual jumps with lifts, throws, and coordinated skating.

Duhamel and Radford became world champions in both 2015 and 2016. At the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, they won bronze in the pairs competition and helped Canada win gold in the team event. Duhamel had already received a team silver medal at the 2014 Sochi Games.

Their skating included technically demanding elements such as the triple Lutz. They added a throw quadruple Salchow during the 2014–15 season, illustrating the ambitious technical side of their partnership. Her career connects Meagan with a sustained collaboration across world championships and two Winter Olympics.

A film connection

Meagan Good appears as Cisely Batiste in Eve's Bayou, the 1997 film written and directed by Kasi Lemmons. Cisely is the older sister of Eve, played by Jurnee Smollett. Samuel L. Jackson and Lynn Whitfield also appear in the family drama.

The sisters occupy different places within the same troubled household, and the film's story turns on family secrets and conflicting perceptions. Good's role places this spelling of Meagan within a distinctive ensemble rather than simply in a list of celebrity names.

American popularity

Meagan was especially visible among American girls born around the end of the 1980s. Its strongest female ranking in the local SSA series was #120 in 1989; its largest annual count followed in 1990, when 2,531 girls received the spelling. By 2000 the count was 858, and by 2010 it was 153. Those figures describe Meagan specifically, with Megan and Meghan counted separately.

How popular is Meagan?

In 2025, Meagan was not listed in the latest American name records. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1954; its largest annual count was 2,531 in 1990. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.