Shan
Feminine
Shan is given to both — 864 girls and 2,224 boys since 1880. See Shan as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Shan is Shannon cut at the first syllable, and what is left keeps nothing of what the longer name was about. Shannon is a river, and a river's name carries the river in it. One syllable in, before the name has said anything, the water is gone.
How old is the name Shan?
Shan first appears in US birth records in 1944 — 81 years ago. The typical Shan alive today was born around 1968, making them about 57 years old. About 800 people named Shan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Shan most popular?
Shan peaked in 1970, reaching #1904 nationally. See the whole 1970 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Shannon to Shan
The story of Shan
The same syllable belongs to a people of several million in the highlands of eastern Burma, who have their own state, their own language related to Thai, and a history of principalities that governed themselves for centuries before and after the British arrived. Their name for themselves is different; Shan is what Burmese speakers call them and what reached English. There is no connection whatever between that people and an Irish river, and no reason to think American families using the name had them in mind. But a short name made of common sounds will always land somewhere else as well, and the somewhere else here is a nation rather than a coincidence of letters.
Meaningnot established
Not established
As a clipping of Shannon it inherits nothing translatable, because the meaning of that name lives in the part that was cut off. As a name in its own right elsewhere it has other and unrelated senses. Neither route can be established from an American record.
How the name formed
- Shannon
- Shan
Pronouncing Shan
SHAN
One syllable with a short vowel. Nothing about the spelling is ambiguous and nobody meeting it hesitates.
Nicknames for Shan
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1944
- Most girls named
- 197045 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1904reached in 1970
- Change vs 2005
- 0.0%5 in 2016, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Shans among us
people named Shan are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Shan sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- One syllable, instantly said, never spelled twice.
- It is completely unisex without sounding as though it is trying to be.
- The sound is soft and easy while the shape is brisk.
- There is no meaning to pass on, and pages that supply one are guessing.
- Most children with this spelling are boys, but a real minority are girls; either may be taken for the other.
- It is short enough to be mistaken for a nickname for something longer.
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What they receive
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Shan
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Shans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Shan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Shan in 2025?
- Shan is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Shan with classmates?
- Shan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More S names
The most-given names starting with S, all years combined.
Susan#1085 · Sarah#90 · Sandra#1207 · Stephanie#557 · Sharon#1250 · Shirley#1581 · Samantha#151 · Sophia#5
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Shan? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Shan and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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