Shona
Feminine · “God has been gracious”
Shona is a language spoken by well over ten million people, and it is also the Scottish Gaelic feminine of John. The two have nothing whatever to do with each other, and the coincidence is complete: same five letters, same sound, two continents.
How old is the name Shona?
Shona first appears in US birth records in 1943 — 82 years ago. The typical Shona alive today was born around 1974, making them about 51 years old. About 2,300 people named Shona are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Shona most popular?
Shona peaked in 1970, reaching #844 nationally. See the whole 1970 chart.
Where it comes from
From Seonag to Shona
The story of Shona
The Scottish name is an anglicization of Seonag, formed the way Gaelic forms feminines, and it has been in use in the Highlands and Islands for centuries. The African name is an exonym of uncertain origin applied to a group of related peoples in what is now Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and it is now the standard term for both the people and the language. American records carry Shona from the nineteen-forties, and which of the two a family had in mind — or whether they had either — is not something a certificate says.
Meaningscholars disagree
God has been gracious
As a Scottish name it is the feminine of Seon, the Gaelic John, and carries that meaning. As the name of the Zimbabwean people and language it is a separate word entirely, and its own origin is disputed.
How the name formed
- Seonag
- Shona
Related forms: Seonag
Pronouncing Shona
SHOH-nuh
Two syllables with the weight at the front, the first vowel long. Shonna, with two n letters, has a short one and is a different name in speech.
Nicknames for Shona
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
- 1943
- Most girls named
- 1970160 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #844reached in 1970
- Change vs 2021
- +20.0%6 in 2024, 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.
Shona in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Seonag in Scottish Gaelic — related form
Shonas among us
people named Shona 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
Shona 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
- Five letters, two syllables, and nothing that has to be explained.
- It is a genuine Scottish name rather than an American respelling.
- It sits comfortably in front of almost any surname.
- It is the name of a large African people and language, which anyone from that region will know.
- Shonna and Shauna are near neighbors and will be written instead.
- It reads clearly as a name of the middle of the twentieth century in America.
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Shona
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Shonas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,300 people named Shona are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Shona in 2025?
- Shona is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Shona with classmates?
- Shona 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 Shona? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Shona and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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