How common is the surname Morgan?

286,280 people in the United States had the surname Morgan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,078 Americans. It ranked 69th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Morgan?

Thomas Hunt Morgan, American biologist and professor from Kentucky (1866–1945), followed by J. P. Morgan.

Where is the surname Morgan most common?

Wikidata records people named Morgan in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom and 3 other countries.

How do you pronounce Morgan?

Morgan is /ˈmɔɹɡən/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Morgan getting more or less common?

More common. 276,400 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 286,280 in 2010, up 3.6%.

Is Morgan also a first name?

Yes. Morgan is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Morgan

A surname, the 69th most common in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈmɔɹɡən/ 2 syllables Soundex M625 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Morgan is more common than 99.9% of them.

Origin

from Old Welsh Morcant, possibly from *mor (“sea”) (Welsh môr) or *mọr (“great”) (Old Welsh maur) + *kantos (“circle”) (Welsh cant), meaning “great chief” or “sea chief”.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 286,280 people named Morgan in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 1,078 Americans. That is up 3.6% since 2000, when the Census counted 276,400.

#69

rank among US surnames

286,280

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+3.6%

change since 2000 (was #62)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#60	Reyes	327,904	942
#61	Stewart	324,957	950
#62	Morris	318,884	968
#63	Morales	311,777	990
#64	Murphy	308,417	1,001
#65	Cook	302,589	1,020
#66	Rogers	302,261	1,021

Who is named Morgan

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

76% of people named Morgan identified as white (not Hispanic), 17% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.8% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 76%
Black (not Hispanic) 17%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.8%
Two or more races 2.1%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.2%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Morgans

99 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Thomas Hunt Morgan
American biologist and professor from Kentucky (1866–1945)
J. P. Morgan
American financier, banker, and art collector (1837–1913)
Alex Morgan
American soccer player, born 1989
Lewis H. Morgan
American anthropologist (1818–1881)
Jeffrey Dean Morgan
American actor, born 1966
Frank Morgan
Actor (1890-1949)
Robin Morgan
American feminist writer, 1941–2026
Tracy Morgan
American actor and comedian, born 1968
Barbara Morgan
Astronaut, born 1951
Lindsey Morgan
American actress, born 1990
Harry Morgan
American actor (1915–2011)
Lee Morgan
American jazz trumpeter (1938–1972)

Notable Morgans come mostly from the United States (79), Australia (9) and the United Kingdom (7).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Morgan

Morgan has the Soundex code M625, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code M625.

Questions

Where does the surname Morgan come from?: from Old Welsh Morcant, possibly from *mor (“sea”) (Welsh môr) or *mọr (“great”) (Old Welsh maur) + *kantos (“circle”) (Welsh cant), meaning “great chief” or “sea chief”.
How common is the surname Morgan?: 286,280 people in the United States had the surname Morgan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,078 Americans. It ranked 69th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Morgan?: In the 2010 Census, 76% of people named Morgan identified as white (not Hispanic), and 17% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Morgan?: Thomas Hunt Morgan, American biologist and professor from Kentucky (1866–1945), followed by J. P. Morgan.
Where is the surname Morgan most common?: Wikidata records people named Morgan in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom and 3 other countries.
How do you pronounce Morgan?: Morgan is /ˈmɔɹɡən/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Morgan getting more or less common?: More common. 276,400 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 286,280 in 2010, up 3.6%.
Is Morgan also a first name?: Yes. Morgan is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.