Shannan
Feminine
Shannan is given to both — 5,162 girls and 317 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
The Shannon is named for a goddess who drowned in it. Irish tradition says Sinann went to a forbidden well of knowledge, the water rose against her, and she was carried out to sea — and the river that carried her took her name. It is Ireland's longest river, and the name has been a girl's name in America for about a century.
How old is the name Shannan?
Shannan first appears in US birth records in 1950 — 75 years ago. The typical Shannan alive today was born around 1976, making them about 49 years old. About 4,900 people named Shannan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Shannan most popular?
Shannan peaked in 1969, reaching #588 nationally. See the whole 1969 chart.
Where it comes from
From Sionainn to Shannan
The story of Shannan
The story belongs to a genre of Irish place-lore in which rivers are women who transgressed and were transformed, and the Boyne has a nearly identical tale attached to it. Both wells belong to a poet's idea of forbidden knowledge. Shannon became an American given name in the twentieth century, first for boys and then decisively for girls, as most Irish surname-shaped names did. The second a in this spelling is one of the standard American ways of marking the women's version without changing a sound.
Meaningscholars disagree
Not established
The Irish name of the river is Sionainn, and the goddess Sinann in the story is either its personification or its namesake depending on which way the legend ran. The word is generally connected to sen, old or ancient, giving something like the old one — a fitting name for a river. That reading is traditional rather than proven, and the well of knowledge story is myth rather than etymology, though it is very old myth.
How the name formed
- Sionainn
- Shannon
- Shannan
Related forms: Sionainn
Pronouncing Shannan
SHAN-un
SHAN-un, two syllables, stress at the front, the second vowel reduced. Shannon and Shannan are said identically; the vowel is unstressed and an a and an o are the same sound there.
Nicknames for Shannan
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
- 1950
- Most girls named
- 1969284 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #588reached in 1969
- Change vs 2011
- 0.0%6 in 2012, from 6
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.
Shannan in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Sionainn in Irish — same name
Shannans among us
people named Shannan 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
Shannan 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
- It names a real and major river with a genuinely good story attached.
- Shan works as a short form and suits either child.
- Two syllables, entirely unambiguous in sound.
- Shannon is the standard spelling and this will be rewritten as it on most documents.
- The change is inaudible, so defending the second a is a purely visual argument.
- It is closely tied to one American generation and dates a person fairly precisely.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Shannan to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Shannan? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Shannan
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Shannans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,900 people named Shannan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Shannan in 2025?
- Shannan is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Shannan with classmates?
- Shannan 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 Shannan? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Shannan and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle