Sion
Masculine · “the Lord is gracious”
Sion is given to both — 798 boys and 85 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Sion is two names at four letters. In Welsh, Siôn is John — the ordinary everyday form of it. In Hebrew, Zion is the hill in Jerusalem and everything that has been built on that word since. Neither knows about the other.
How old is the name Sion?
Sion first appears in US birth records in 1912 — 113 years ago. The typical Sion alive today was born around 2012, making them about 13 years old. About 800 people named Sion are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Sion most popular?
Sion peaked in 1912, reaching #2544 nationally. Today it ranks #2941, 397 places below that high. See the whole 1912 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Yochanan to Sion
The story of Sion
Welsh took John twice, as it happens: Ieuan directly from Latin and Sion later from Norman French, which is why Wales has both Evan and Sion for the same name. Sion became the common form and is entirely ordinary in Welsh, usually written with a circumflex as Siôn. The Hebrew Zion took a different road: through the psalms into Christian hymnody, into the name of the Zionist movement, and into Rastafari, where Zion names the homeland. Both roads reach American records at this spelling.
Meaningscholars disagree
the Lord is gracious — in Welsh; or the hill of Jerusalem — in Hebrew
Welsh Sion is the Welsh form of John, taken from Norman French Jehan and so from Hebrew Yochanan, 'the Lord is gracious'. Hebrew Tsiyyon names a fortified hill in Jerusalem and by extension the city, the people and, in Rastafari and other traditions, a promised home; its own derivation is disputed, with 'dry place' and 'fortress' both proposed. Two entirely separate names at one spelling.
How the name formed
- Yochanan
- Jehan
- Siôn
Related forms: Siôn · John · Tsiyyon · Zion
Pronouncing Sion
SHON
One syllable in Welsh — the si is a sh sound, so Siôn is said much like the Irish Sean. The Hebrew Zion is two syllables, ZY-un. The same four letters give two entirely different sounds depending on which name is meant.
Nicknames for Sion
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 boys named
- 202243 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2544reached in 1912
- Change vs 2024
- +35.5%42 in 2025, from 31
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.
Sion in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Siôn in Welsh — same name
- John in English — related form
- Tsiyyon in Hebrew — related form
- Zion in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, Georgia, California.
Sions among us
people named Sion are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 40,668 born in 2025 was named Sion
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Sion
- #2941
- Sion on the 2025 chart
- #807
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Sion went to 42 boys in 2025, but Syon, Siyon and Syion and the rest below are the same name said out loud. Together the 8 spellings went to 121, which makes it the 807th most-given boys’ name of the year — 2,134 places above the chart.
- Sion42
- Syon38
- Siyon13
- Syion7
- Scion6
- Cion5
- Ciyon5
- Cyon5
About 1 boy in 14,116 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 40,668 for Sion itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Sion 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 Sion is headed
Sion should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low 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.
Sion beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Sion in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Two genuine and substantial ancestries, either of which is worth having.
- Four letters, and easy to say once someone has said it.
- Ordinary in Wales rather than a revival, which many Welsh names are not.
- The Welsh and Hebrew readings are said completely differently, so the family must establish which.
- English speakers will say SY-on on sight, which is neither.
- Sion, Siôn, Zion and Shaun all circulate and belong to different traditions.
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What they receive
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Sion
Masculine · #2941 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Sions 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 Sion are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Sion?
- Sion is the most-used spelling in US records — 42 of the 121 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Syon, Siyon, Syion, Scion, Cion, Ciyon and Cyon.
- How popular is the name Sion in 2025?
- Sion ranks #2941 among US boy names in 2025, with 42 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Sion?
- About 1 in every 40,668 US boys born in 2025 was named Sion — 42 in all.
- Will my child share the name Sion with classmates?
- Sion will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Sion
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Prescott#2941 · Kwame#2941 · Michelangelo#2941 · Jahan#2941 · Kairi#2941 · Yonah#2941 · Nihal#2941 · Reyes#2941
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Sion? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Sion and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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