Shannon
Feminine · “old river”
Shannon is given to both — 295,782 girls and 52,379 boys since 1880. See Shannon as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Shannon is Ireland's longest river, and the river is named for a goddess. In the legend she goes to a forbidden well of knowledge, and the water rises and carries her away — and becomes the river.
How old is the name Shannon?
Shannon first appears in US birth records in 1912 — 113 years ago. The typical Shannon alive today was born around 1979, making them about 46 years old. About 282,000 people named Shannon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Shannon most popular?
Shannon peaked in 1976, reaching #17 nationally. Today it ranks #2387, 2,370 places below that high. See the whole 1976 chart.
Shannon appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From Sionainn to Shannon
The story of Shannon
The Shannon is the longest river in Ireland or Britain, and the story of Sinann and the well of Segais is told in the medieval place-lore collections that explain Irish topography through myth. Irish place names became American given names in the twentieth century — Shannon, Erin, Kerry, Clare — and Shannon rose extremely fast through the 1960s and 1970s, reaching the American top twenty by 1976.
Meaningscholars disagree
old river; wise one
From the Irish Sionainn, the river's name, generally read as containing sen, 'old' or 'ancient'. The legendary figure Sinann, granddaughter of a sea god, gives her name to it; her story connects the name to knowledge and to the well of wisdom. Which came first, the river or the goddess, is not recoverable.
How the name formed
- Sionainn
- Shannon
Related forms: Sionainn · Shannen · Shanon
Pronouncing Shannon
SHAN-un
Two syllables, stress on the first. The Irish Sionainn is closer to SHIN-in, with a different first vowel.
Nicknames for Shannon
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
- 1912
- Most girls named
- 197013,547 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #17reached in 1976
- Change vs 2023
- −21.9%75 in 2025, from 96
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.
Shannon in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Sionainn in Irish — related form
- Shannen in English — spelling variant
- Shanon in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Texas.
Shannons among us
people named Shannon are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 21,430 born in 2025 was named Shannon
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Louise test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Shannon's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Louise climbed just as high around 1912, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Louise's path sketches the road Shannon is walking now.
Shannon sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Shannon is headed
Shannon should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Shannon beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Shannon in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A real river with a documented mythology attached, which is an unusually good story to carry.
- It works for either sex, and did so throughout its rise.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk in English.
- It is thoroughly unisex and does not signal sex on paper.
- It is closely dated to the 1970s and 1980s in American records.
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What they receive
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Shannon
Feminine · #2387 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Shannons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 282,000 people named Shannon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Shannon in 2025?
- Shannon ranks #2387 among US girl names in 2025, with 75 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Shannon?
- About 1 in every 21,430 US girls born in 2025 was named Shannon — 75 in all.
- Will my child share the name Shannon with classmates?
- Shannon will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Shannon
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rena#2387 · Yana#2387 · Eviana#2387 · Mariyah#2387 · Dora#2387 · Maiya#2387 · Jeanette#2387 · Suzanne#2387
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Shannon? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Shannon and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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