Morgan is a name of

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

and

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

origin. Traditionally, it is a masculine-coded name in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

, but has been decoupled from its traditional gender outside of its regions of origin. Morgan is also used as a

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

, derived from the given name. The name is a descendant of

Old Welsh Old Welsh ( cy, Hen Gymraeg) is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic ...

''Morcant'', possibly derived from ''môr'' (meaning "sea") and "''cant''" (the circle) or "''gen''" (come / origin) with the meaning: "sea chief", "sea protector", "sea defender" or "sailor/captain". Contemporaneous records of the first Mormaer, or count de Mar, spelled his name

Morggán, Earl of Mar Morggán of Mar is the first Mormaer or Earl of Mar to appear in history as "more than a characterless name in a witness-list.".Oram, "The Earls and Earldom of Mar", p. 47 He is often known as ''Morgrund'' or ''Morgan''. His father was Gille ...

. The use of the name for women may be inspired by the character Morgan le Fay from Arthurian legend. For the etymology of Morgan le Fay, see . Morgan as a first name originated in Wales and Brittany, but spread in popularity outside of Welsh and Breton communities during the past century, including in France, and in English-speaking countries worldwide. In the United States it is commonly used for any gender, although it has become a more popular name for women than men since the 1990s, possibly due to conflation with the popular name

Megan Megan is a Welsh feminine given name, originally a diminutive form of Margaret. Margaret is from the Greek μαργαρίτης (''margarítēs''), Latin ''margarīta'', "pearl". Megan is one of the most popular Welsh-language names for women in ...

. The name is also used for any gender in other English-speaking countries, including Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. The French feminine version of the name is Morgane.

Notable people

Female

Morgan Andrews Morgan Elizabeth Andrews (born March 25, 1995) is an American soccer player who last played as a midfielder for OL Reign in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She previously played for Perth Glory and Boston Breakers. Andrews has repr ...

(born 1995), American soccer player *

Morgan Brittany Morgan Brittany (née Suzanne Cupito) is an American actress born in Los Angeles. She is known for her role as Katherine Wentworth, the scheming younger half-sister of Pamela Ewing and Cliff Barnes, on the prime-time soap opera ''Dallas''. Car ...

(born 1951), American actress *

Morgan Fairchild Morgan Fairchild (born Patsy Ann McClenny; February 3, 1950) is an American actress. She began acting in the early 1970s and has had roles in several television series since. Fairchild began her career on the CBS daytime soap opera ''Search for T ...

(born 1950), American actress * Morgan Featherstone (born 1994), Australian fashion model *

Morgan Gautrat Morgan Paige Gautrat (; born February 26, 1993) is an American Women's association football, soccer player who most recently played for the Kansas City Current of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the highest division of women's professi ...

(born 1993), American soccer player *

Morgan Hurd Morgan Elizabeth Hurd (born July 18, 2001) is an American artistic gymnast and a five-time member of the United States women's national team (2016–21). She is the 2017 World all-around champion and balance beam silver medalist and the 2018 ...

(born 2001), American gymnast * Morgan James (born 1981), American musician * Morgan Joanel, Australian pop singer-songwriter and visual artist *

Morgan Pressel Morgan Pressel (born May 23, 1988) is an American professional golfer and golf commentator who played on the LPGA Tour. In 2001, as a 12-year-old, she became the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open. She was the 2005 American Ju ...

(born 1988), American professional golfer *

Morgan Tuck Morgan Tuck (born April 30, 1994) is an American former professional basketball player. She played her first four WNBA seasons with the Connecticut Sun. She won 4 consecutive NCAA championships with the University of Connecticut. She completed he ...

(born 1994), American basketball player *

Morgan Webb Morgan Ailis Webb (born October 5, 1978) is a former co-host and senior segment producer of the G4 show '' X-Play''. She was previously the host of the podcast ''WebbAlert'' and a monthly columnist for the United States edition of '' FHM'', whe ...

(born 1978), American television presenter and producer * Morgan White (born 1983), American gymnast *

Morgan William Morgan William (born July 14, 1996) is an American women's college basketball player who previously played for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. She helped lead the Bulldogs to four appearances in the NCAA tournament, including three Sweet Sixteens ...

(born 1996), American basketball player

Male

Morgan (bishop) Morgan was a medieval Bishop-elect of Durham. Morgan was an illegitimate son of King Henry II of England and Nesta, daughter of Iorwerth ab Owain, Lord of Caerleon. Nesta was married to Sir Ralph Bloet, who raised Morgan as his son. The date o ...

, Bishop-elect of Durham in 1215 and illegitimate son of King Henry II of England * Morgan De Sanctis (born 1977), Italian soccer player *

Morgan Earp Morgan Seth Earp (April 24, 1851 – March 18, 1882) was an American sheriff and lawman. He served as Tombstone, Arizona's Special Policeman when he helped his brothers Virgil and Wyatt, as well as Doc Holliday, confront the outlaw Cochise C ...

(1851–1882), American lawman, brother of Wyatt Earp * Morgan Ensberg (born 1975), American baseball player *

Morgan M. Finley Morgan Martin Finley (August 31, 1925 – September 20, 2016) was an American politician and businessman. Finley was born in Chicago, Illinois. He went to De La Salle Institute and DePaul University. Finley served in the United States Navy dur ...

(1925–2016), American politician and businessman *

Morgan Fisher Stephen Morgan Fisher (born 1 January 1950) is an English keyboard player and composer, and is most known as a member of Mott the Hoople in the early 1970s. However, his career has covered a wide range of musical activities, and he is still ac ...

(born 1950), British musician and photographer *

Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...

(born 1937), American actor, director, and narrator * Morgan Green (born 1987), American footballer * Morgan Grim (born 1988), American basketball player *

Morgan Hamm Morgan Carl Hamm (born September 24, 1982 in Washburn, Wisconsin) is an American artistic gymnast. He is an Olympic silver medalist in the team competition at the 2004 Olympics and a two-time Olympian (2000, 2004). He also was a member of the s ...

(born 1982), American gymnast *

Morgan Johansson Tomas Morgan Johansson (born 14 May 1970) is a Swedish politician of the Social Democrats who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden from 2019 to 2022. He served as Minister for Justice from 2014 to 2022 and as minister for home affairs fro ...

(born 1970), Swedish politician * Morgan Jones (disambiguation), several people *

Morgan Luttrell Morgan Joe Luttrell (born November 7, 1975) is an American politician, businessman, and military veteran serving as the U.S. representative for Texas's 8th congressional district since 2023. Early life and education Born in Houston in 1975, Mo ...

(born 1975), American politician *

Morgan Nicholls Morgan Daniel Nicholls (born 18 March 1971) is an English musician, member of English pop band Senseless Things and best known for performing with Muse, Gorillaz, The Streets and Lily Allen. He has released one solo album under the mononym Morg ...

(born 1971), English musician *

Morgan Philips Price Morgan Philips Price (29 January 1885 – 23 September 1973) was a British politician and a Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP). He was born in Gloucester. His father, William Edwin Price, was also a British MP, serving for the seat of Tewkes ...

(1885–1973), British politician *

Morgan Phillips Morgan Walter Phillips (18 June 1902 – 15 January 1963) was a colliery worker and trade union activist who became the General Secretary of the British Labour Party, involved in two of the party's election victories. Life Born in Aberdare, ...

(1902–1963), General Secretary of the British Labour Party *

Morgan Rielly Morgan Frederick Rielly (born March 9, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Maple Leafs in the first round, fifth o ...

(born 1994), Canadian ice hockey player * Morgan Sanson (born 1994), French soccer player *

Morgan Schneiderlin Morgan Fernand Gérard Schneiderlin (; born 8 November 1989) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Western Sydney Wanderers in the A-League on loan from Nice. Schneiderlin began his career with Strasbour ...

(born 1989), French soccer player *

Morgan Spurlock Morgan Valentine Spurlock (born November 7, 1970) is an American documentary filmmaker, humorist, television producer, screenwriter and playwright. Spurlock's films include '' Super Size Me'' (2004), '' Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden?'' ( ...

(born 1970), American filmmaker, screenwriter and producer * Morgan Stevens (1951–2022), American actor *

Morgan Tsvangirai Morgan Richard Tsvangirai (; ; 10 March 1952 – 14 February 2018) was a Zimbabwean politician who was Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013. He was President of the Movement for Democratic Change, and later the Movement for Democratic ...

(1952–2018), prime minister of Zimbabwe *

Morgan Ward Henry Morgan Ward"New York, New York City Births, 1846-1909," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WWG-V9Y : 11 February 2018), Henry Morgan Ward, 20 Aug 1901; citing Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, referen ...

(1901–1963), American mathematician *

Morgan Wootten Morgan Bayard Wootten (April 21, 1931January 21, 2020) was an American high school basketball coach for 46 seasons at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. He led the Stags to five national championships and 33 Washington Cathol ...

(1931–2020), American basketball coach

Fictional characters

Morgan le Fay Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan ''n''a, Morgain ''a/e Morg ''a''ne, Morgant ''e Morge ''i''n, and Morgue ''inamong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a ...

, a powerful enchantress in the Arthurian legend * Morgan Jones, a character in ''The Walking Dead'' franchise *Morgan the Midnight Fairy, a character in the book series ''

Rainbow Magic ''Rainbow Magic'' is a British children's fiction brand originally created by Working Partners and now owned by IoM Media Ventures. It is best known for the children's books published by Orchard Books. The books are ghostwritten by a number of ...

References

{{given name English masculine given names English feminine given names Irish unisex given names Scottish masculine given names Welsh unisex given names English unisex given names English-language unisex given names

Notable people

Female

Male

Fictional characters

See also

References