Shane
Feminine · “God has been gracious”
Shane is given to boys far more often — 192,583 boys against 3,583 girls since 1880. See Shane as a boy name
Shane is not a respelling of Sean; it is a different pronunciation of the same Irish name, written down. Ulster says the name with the vowel of cane, and the rest of Ireland says it with the vowel of dawn, and English has ended up treating the two as separate names entirely.
How old is the name Shane?
Shane first appears in US birth records in 1941 — 84 years ago. The typical Shane alive today was born around 1979, making them about 46 years old. About 3,400 people named Shane are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Shane most popular?
Shane peaked in 1973, reaching #675 nationally. See the whole 1973 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Jehan to Shane
The story of Shane
Irish vowels vary by province, and this one varies more than most. In the north the long a in Sean is said as the a of gate, giving Shane; in Munster it is closer to the aw of lawn, giving Shaun and Shawn. Ulster families wrote their pronunciation down, and Shane became a name in its own right — Shane O'Neill was one of the great Ulster lords of the sixteenth century, and the spelling has been Irish and northern ever since. Its American life is a separate matter. A western novel and then the film made from it in 1953 put the name in front of an enormous audience, and it climbed steadily for the two decades afterwards.
Meaning
God has been gracious
The Irish Sean is the Irish form of John, arrived at through the Norman French Jehan, and it carries John's meaning unaltered. The Ulster pronunciation changes nothing but the vowel.
How the name formed
- Jehan
- Sean
- Shane
Related forms: Sean · John · Jean · Seathan
Pronouncing Shane
SHAYN
One syllable, rhyming with rain. Shaun and Shawn, the other spellings of the same Irish name, rhyme with lawn instead.
Nicknames for Shane
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
- 1941
- Most girls named
- 1972203 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #675reached in 1973
- Change vs 2022
- −30.0%7 in 2024, from 10
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.
Shane in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Sean in Irish — same name
- John in English — related form
- Jean in French — related form
- Seathan in Scottish Gaelic — related form
Shanes among us
people named Shane 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
Shane 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, five letters, and no possible mispronunciation in English.
- It is a genuine Irish name in current use, not an American respelling.
- It works well in front of long surnames, where fuller names get crowded.
- It is recognized across the English-speaking world without adjustment.
- Shaun, Shawn and Sean are all the same name and are constantly substituted for it.
- One film has attached itself firmly for anyone over a certain age.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of girls, though it reads overwhelmingly as a boy's name.
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Shane
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Shanes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,400 people named Shane are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Shane in 2025?
- Shane is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Shane with classmates?
- Shane 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 Shane? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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