Given name & surname
Kagan
“a fiery man; a thinker”
Kagan is a variant of Kagen. One Irish interpretation is “a fiery man; a thinker.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Kagan is a variant of Kagen. One Irish interpretation is “a fiery man; a thinker.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Kagan is a variant of Kagen. An origin associated with Kagen is Irish.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1978. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Kagan through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 724
- 651 boys · 73 girls
- Most popular year
- 2001
- 41 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #12,927 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −59%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 12,927 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 36 in 2001. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 739 as a first name in 2020; 2,875 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Kagan’s family of names
Kagan has a related form in Kagen. In French usage, Kagan as a surname has a conventional equivalent in the Russian form Каган. In Russian usage, Kagan as a surname is a transliteration of Каган.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
See also 3
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
Similar names
If you love Kagan, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Kegan
“small and fiery woman” · “a small and fiery man”
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Antwaan
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Hassaan
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Karandeep
>99% boys
Cadon
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