Meghan

Mehegan and other variants are Irish surnames. I think the existence of these names has led to the insertion of the “h” into the girl’s given name Megan, which is Welsh. There is a mistaken theory that Meghan is an Irish girl’s name; it is not used in Ireland as a girl’s name (unless this annoying misspelling of a Welsh name has been imported from America).

My name is Meghan, and many people pronounce it May-gen, or Meg-an, it depends on their accent.
I lived in Wales for about 2 years, and many Welsh folk said that Meghan is the Celtic version of the name "Megan." They told me that my name is also commonly spelled Meaghan, or Meaghane.
Similarly, Meghan is a Welsh name with the translation to "pearl" and means "warrior" if pronounced May-gen.

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Hope this helps! Cheers! :)

My name is M-E-G-H-A-N, and while I've always preferred this particular spelling, both are lovely names. Anyway, my family is extremely Irish and my parents chose my name from a Gaelic Baby Name book. I've seen the book for myself and it has the names, meanings, pronunciations, and origins of all the Gaelic names in the book. The book says my name (spelled WITH an H) means small but powerful and strong... which lines up with the original comment... Don't know if this helps anybody out, but I certainly know and have always known that this is the meaning of my name.

Meghan is actually its own derivative of Margret not of Megan and not only does it mean pearl but it means strength and courage. It it very frustrating as a proud bearer of the name to hear it slandered and put down. I would never put down another name or say it is the wrong spelling or the wrong name. So internet or not H or not please don't lower yourself, they are separate names not at war. I have never been so ashamed to share my name before today when I read this sight. Please you wouldn't say that to someone's face, don't say it to a screen.

The name with the spelling M-E-G-H-A-N is actually of more than one origin (if spelled as shown).

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Meghan (pronounced Meg-En) is Greek and Sanskrit. In Greek, it means "pearl" or as my ex's dad says in some regions there it means "jewel." "Cloud" is another meaning of the name in India.

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Meghan (often pronounced Mee-gen) is Welsh, as some have mentioned previously. The Irish are heavily influenced by the Welsh, so you can understand where similarities are. Margaret is Margaret with various spellings, but the name is in no relation to Margaret.

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The name has nothing to do with the old Irish surname O'Meeghan or with the name MEGAN, which someone had previously said is the correct way to spell it.

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The name Megan (pronounced May-gan and spelled without an H) is actually a German name unrelated to this name.

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My name happens to be Meghan, derived from my mother's maiden name, Madigan, so I not only take offense to people who mispronounce it, but who link my name to "Megan." They are very different names. Yes, it is more popular in the US, but that doesn't mean it's a made up name or made up spelling.

First there is no such language as "Irish" - the language spoken in Ireland is/was Gaelic - the language of the Gaels. It is also spoken, albeit a different dialect, in Scotland, and there are also other variants in Breton and other places originally populated by Gaels.

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Anyway, I was told once from a Meghan of Cornish origin that Meghan is derived from Magan meaning "Power" in many old languages. She also said that in Cornish it is the word for witch - not in the bad sense but in the sense of "a woman with power" so is considered a good name.

@Anonymous User 5/7/2011: That Meghan was wrong. The Cornish words for witch, woman, power etc are nothing like Meghan. It doesn't appear in any Cornish baby name books either so I've no idea where she got that idea from.

My name is Meghan and I don't know why one person said it's pronounced different... cause it's not so maybe you're wrong? Or your parents tried to make it unique? Either way from my experience it is Irish, my whole family is Irish and my name came from a book in Ireland for picking Irish names.. I also have a framed photo thing from my grandmother that says:

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Meghan
Root: Megan from Margaret, Irish form of Margaret
Irish:"great"

The name Meghan means "pearl" in Welsh.

You are absolutely correct that Meghan means "pearl" in Welsh. I would know as I have looked up the name numerous times for my sister who bears the name Meghan.

It does not mean pearl in Welsh. It is the Welsh version of a name of Greek origin which meant pearl. So it is Welsh, and it means pearl, but to clarify, it doesn't mean pearl in Welsh.

The name MEGHAN is the Celtic/Irish spelling of the name. It is derived from the ancient clan MEEGHAN. The name means "brave warrior."

I am now confused. When I first came to this site, I had just found out that I was pregnant, January this year (there is a long and spooky story as to why I wanted to call my baby Meghan). After trying for 3 and a half years my partner and I were overjoyed. I wanted to look up the meaning of the name we had been given. At that time there was only the one comment about Meghan stating that it meant warior, this was great and we have now named our one month old baby girl Meghan. I have revisited the site today to show it to a friend, and find a further two comments. Could the original poster please tell us where they got their info from?

It might look like a Gaelic spelling, but it's not. Meghan is just an alternative spelling of Megan, which is a Welsh pet form of Margaret, so therefore no relation. Plus, if it was Gaelic, it would be pronounced more like "MAY-an".

Many sources erroneously state that Meghan is the Irish spelling of Megan. This is absolutely FALSE. Meghan is an alternate spelling of Megan that is of American origin, and is primarily used in America, Canada, and Australia. It may have been created out of confusion with the Irish surname O'Meegan, which is in actuality entirely unrelated to the name Megan.