Name meaning & history
About the name Reagan
Meaning & Origin
Reagan comes from the Irish Gaelic surname "Ó Ríagáin," which means "descendant of Riagán." The root name Riagán likely comes from the Old Irish word "rí," meaning "king" or "little king." So at its core, Reagan carries a royal meaning that stretches back over a thousand years of Irish history.
The History
For most of its existence, Reagan was strictly an Irish family name, carried by clans in counties Cork and Tipperary during the medieval period. It crossed the Atlantic during the great waves of Irish immigration in the 18th and 19th centuries. For generations it stayed a surname. The shift to a first name gained serious momentum in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s, largely influenced by President Ronald Reagan, who served two terms from 1981 to 1989. His name became a cultural landmark, and American parents began borrowing it as a given name for both boys and girls.
Why It Endures
Reagan fits comfortably inside a popular naming trend where Irish surnames become first names, similar to names like Riley, Quinn, and Brady. It sounds strong but not harsh. It works for both genders. Parents today are drawn to names that feel rooted in history without sounding old-fashioned, and Reagan hits that mark cleanly. It has stayed consistently ranked in the top 100 American girls names since the early 2000s.