Entry № 2480 · Celtic origin

Imogen Imogen — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ IM-oh-jen /
Gender
Girl
Origin
Celtic
Meaning
"Maiden, beloved girl"
Syllables
3
Rank · US 2025
№ 612
First recorded
1610 (Shakespeare)

A name that means "maiden, beloved girl".

Imogen first appears in print in Shakespeare's Cymbeline (c. 1610) — possibly a printer's error for Innogen, an older Celtic name from inghean (Old Irish) meaning "maiden" or "girl." Shakespeare's heroine is one of his most fully drawn women; the critic William Hazlitt called her "the most tender and the most artless" of all his characters.

Imogen is hugely popular in the United Kingdom (in the top 50) and Australia. In the U.S. it entered the top 1000 in 2007 and has been climbing. The British actress Imogen Poots and the singer Imogen Heap are well known. Today Imogen sits in the U.S. top 600 and is climbing fast.

Maiden. Shakespeare's most tenderly drawn heroine.

The name in its native script.

Imogen
Transliteration
Imogen
Pronunciation
/ ˈɪm.ə.dʒən /
Root
Grammatical form

Where Imogen stands.

Current rank · 2025
№ 612 in the U.S.
All-time peak
№ 612 in 2025
Babies named Imogen · last year
487 in the U.S.
First entered SSA top-1000
2007
Rank, 1995–2025 Lower = more popular
№25 №75 №150 №250 1995 2005 2015 2020 2025 PEAK · №612 NOW · №612

Imogens before her.

Real people
Imogen Poots
British actress.
born 1989
Imogen Heap
British singer-songwriter.
born 1977
In fiction
Imogen
Heroine of Shakespeare's Cymbeline.
c. 1610 play

Names connected to Imogen.

The number behind Imogen.

6

The Nurturer

Imogen reduces to six — the number of tender courage.

Why families chose this name.

"Britain's quiet classic. Three soft syllables. We could see her growing into the name."
Catherine · Mother of one · London