How Many People Are Named Shannon?
people named Shannon are alive in the United States today (estimate)
About 1 in 1,047 people in the US has this name
Based on 348,161 babies named Shannon in Social Security records from 1881 to 2025, and the share of each birth year still alive in 2025.
Popularity Rank
⭐ Uncommon
Peak Year
16,118 births
Trend
Stable (last 10 years)
📖 Name Origin & Meaning
Meaning:
From the name of the River Shannon, the longest river in Ireland, called Abha na tSionainn in Irish. It is associated with the goddess Sionann and is sometimes said to be named for her. However it is more likely the goddess was named after the river, which may be related to Old Irish sen "old, ancient". As a given name, it first became common in America after the 1940s.
Source of the meaning, origin, pronunciation and related names: Behind the Name.
Same Sound, Other Spellings
These names are pronounced like Shannon in English. Counting Shannon and these spellings together, about 332,233 people alive in the US have the name.
⚧ Gender Distribution
Of the babies given the name Shannon, 85.8% were girls and 14.2% were boys. The share of girls among babies named Shannon rose from 7.5% in the 1910s to 66.1% in the 2020s. It was highest in the 1990s, at 92.3%.
👥 Age Distribution
The average person named Shannon alive today is about 45 years old, and 84% are between 30 and 59. Half of them were between 38 and 53 in 2025.
📈 Popularity Over Time
Shannon first appears in the records in 1881 and was given most often in 1970, to 16,118 babies. In 2025, 116 babies got the name.
Babies given the name each year, 1881 to 2025
🏆 Rank History
Shannon never made the top 10 girls' names. Its best rank was #17, in 1976, and it was in the top 100 for 30 years, 1968 to 1997. In 2025 it ranked #2,405. Among boys, its best rank was #94, in 1972.
| Girls | Boys | |
|---|---|---|
| Rank in 2025 | #2,405 | #3,030 |
| Best rank | #17 (1976) | #94 (1972) |
| Years in the top 100 | 30 (1968 to 1997) | 3 (1972 to 1976) |
| Rank in its biggest decade | #21 in the 1970s | #111 in the 1970s |
📍 State-Wise Distribution
People named Shannon alive today, by the state where they were born (estimate; state records start in 1910).
More people named Shannon were born in California than in any other state: about 33,775 of those alive today. Compared with the national rate in the same years, Shannon was given 1.5 times as often in Alaska, 1.5 times in Hawaii and 1.4 times in Montana.
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