Shannon
Shannon is given to both girls and boys: 75 girls and 41 boys were given it in 2025 (#2,405 among girls’ names and #3,030 among boys’, #3,215 among all names counting both); 348,161 Americans have been recorded with it since 1881 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 325,000 Americans named Shannon and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (93% of everyone recorded); the median is 48 years old and half are between 39 and 54.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Shannon by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Shannon mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Shannon is “a unisex given name transferred from the surname or place name (from the river); first used in the USA in early 20th century, and only recently in Ireland.”
Borrowed from Irish Sionainn.
/ˈʃænən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Shannon?
#2,405 among girls’ names, 2025
Shannon fell from #1,063 in 2015 to #2,405 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.14 to 0.05 per 1,000.
16,118 babies in 1970, the peak
Shannon peaked in 1970, when 16,118 babies were given it (13,547 girls, #22 among girls’ names). The 116 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are under 1% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 75 | #2,405 | 41 | #3,030 |
| 2024 | 107 | #1,883 | 51 | #2,627 |
| 2023 | 96 | #2,047 | 43 | #2,940 |
| 2022 | 109 | #1,867 | 42 | #2,990 |
| 2021 | 122 | #1,708 | 64 | #2,217 |
| 2020 | 98 | #1,956 | 70 | #2,044 |
| 2019 | 147 | #1,493 | 69 | #2,105 |
| 2018 | 148 | #1,487 | 68 | #2,097 |
| 2017 | 174 | #1,339 | 79 | #1,869 |
| 2016 | 193 | #1,266 | 78 | #1,900 |
Every recorded year (122)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 249 | #1,063 | 82 | #1,824 |
| 2014 | 257 | #1,017 | 85 | #1,778 |
| 2013 | 278 | #917 | 97 | #1,601 |
| 2012 | 327 | #825 | 95 | #1,632 |
| 2011 | 394 | #707 | 101 | #1,564 |
| 2010 | 419 | #685 | 95 | #1,650 |
| 2009 | 543 | #562 | 144 | #1,248 |
| 2008 | 657 | #482 | 150 | #1,186 |
| 2007 | 741 | #437 | 162 | #1,119 |
| 2006 | 919 | #357 | 190 | #979 |
| 2005 | 1,053 | #303 | 194 | #913 |
| 2004 | 1,255 | #256 | 201 | #872 |
| 2003 | 1,447 | #227 | 206 | #843 |
| 2002 | 1,757 | #184 | 234 | #744 |
| 2001 | 1,906 | #171 | 210 | #800 |
| 2000 | 2,180 | #152 | 241 | #722 |
| 1999 | 2,747 | #118 | 308 | #601 |
| 1998 | 3,278 | #104 | 271 | #646 |
| 1997 | 3,914 | #85 | 296 | #598 |
| 1996 | 4,337 | #80 | 316 | #577 |
| 1995 | 4,733 | #73 | 375 | #524 |
| 1994 | 5,508 | #60 | 403 | #505 |
| 1993 | 6,070 | #53 | 377 | #529 |
| 1992 | 5,290 | #66 | 466 | #465 |
| 1991 | 4,845 | #71 | 514 | #435 |
| 1990 | 5,190 | #68 | 520 | #428 |
| 1989 | 5,660 | #61 | 566 | #389 |
| 1988 | 6,256 | #56 | 510 | #387 |
| 1987 | 6,968 | #45 | 517 | #373 |
| 1986 | 7,403 | #44 | 571 | #337 |
| 1985 | 7,714 | #41 | 689 | #295 |
| 1984 | 8,476 | #37 | 763 | #274 |
| 1983 | 8,424 | #38 | 882 | #246 |
| 1982 | 8,623 | #38 | 1,088 | #220 |
| 1981 | 9,226 | #32 | 1,205 | #207 |
| 1980 | 9,670 | #29 | 1,328 | #184 |
| 1979 | 10,370 | #25 | 1,639 | #159 |
| 1978 | 10,598 | #22 | 1,849 | #143 |
| 1977 | 12,518 | #19 | 2,286 | #120 |
| 1976 | 13,368 | #17 | 2,611 | #98 |
| 1975 | 9,370 | #21 | 2,530 | #101 |
| 1974 | 10,608 | #18 | 2,505 | #101 |
| 1973 | 9,802 | #22 | 2,636 | #100 |
| 1972 | 10,965 | #22 | 3,014 | #94 |
| 1971 | 12,647 | #21 | 3,008 | #106 |
| 1970 | 13,547 | #22 | 2,571 | #128 |
| 1969 | 10,452 | #31 | 2,373 | #129 |
| 1968 | 6,403 | #53 | 1,704 | #159 |
| 1967 | 3,444 | #101 | 1,171 | #198 |
| 1966 | 2,990 | #120 | 1,157 | #204 |
| 1965 | 2,570 | #144 | 938 | #243 |
| 1964 | 2,299 | #170 | 758 | #281 |
| 1963 | 2,053 | #186 | 626 | #318 |
| 1962 | 1,394 | #231 | 502 | #350 |
| 1961 | 1,234 | #252 | 336 | #436 |
| 1960 | 1,011 | #288 | 286 | #469 |
| 1959 | 1,007 | #282 | 300 | #459 |
| 1958 | 824 | #325 | 142 | #646 |
| 1957 | 709 | #340 | 160 | #606 |
| 1956 | 692 | #332 | 165 | #591 |
| 1955 | 643 | #336 | 157 | #586 |
| 1954 | 558 | #368 | 124 | #653 |
| 1953 | 492 | #383 | 89 | #755 |
| 1952 | 419 | #411 | 106 | #675 |
| 1951 | 374 | #430 | 109 | #670 |
| 1950 | 382 | #407 | 92 | #716 |
| 1949 | 267 | #495 | 82 | #762 |
| 1948 | 219 | #562 | 78 | #769 |
| 1947 | 256 | #519 | 75 | #798 |
| 1946 | 152 | #642 | 85 | #710 |
| 1945 | 119 | #686 | 52 | #882 |
| 1944 | 120 | #684 | 48 | #933 |
| 1943 | 143 | #636 | 50 | #950 |
| 1942 | 126 | #671 | 49 | #956 |
| 1941 | 83 | #796 | 42 | #1,001 |
| 1940 | 72 | #846 | 35 | #1,129 |
| 1939 | 65 | #875 | 35 | #1,101 |
| 1938 | 55 | #964 | 42 | #990 |
| 1937 | 55 | #939 | 31 | #1,207 |
| 1936 | 32 | #1,289 | 35 | #1,115 |
| 1935 | 32 | #1,300 | 29 | #1,271 |
| 1934 | 38 | #1,162 | 32 | #1,187 |
| 1933 | 29 | #1,360 | 34 | #1,143 |
| 1932 | 23 | #1,626 | 24 | #1,460 |
| 1931 | 28 | #1,417 | 24 | #1,454 |
| 1930 | 15 | #2,288 | 11 | #2,585 |
| 1929 | 20 | #1,882 | 15 | #2,082 |
| 1928 | 17 | #2,175 | 26 | #1,479 |
| 1927 | 9 | #3,528 | 28 | #1,430 |
| 1926 | 11 | #3,021 | 26 | #1,459 |
| 1925 | 13 | #2,754 | 25 | #1,528 |
| 1924 | 10 | #3,350 | 19 | #1,885 |
| 1923 | 11 | #3,093 | 39 | #1,153 |
| 1922 | 15 | #2,466 | 29 | #1,388 |
| 1921 | 6 | #5,017 | 28 | #1,442 |
| 1920 | under 5 | 19 | #1,876 | |
| 1919 | 5 | #5,454 | 34 | #1,227 |
| 1918 | 5 | #5,475 | 25 | #1,488 |
| 1917 | under 5 | 24 | #1,473 | |
| 1916 | under 5 | 31 | #1,201 | |
| 1915 | under 5 | 30 | #1,210 | |
| 1914 | under 5 | 16 | #1,597 | |
| 1913 | under 5 | 16 | #1,359 | |
| 1912 | 5 | #3,364 | 9 | #1,863 |
| 1908 | under 5 | 7 | #1,196 | |
| 1907 | under 5 | 6 | #1,321 | |
| 1906 | under 5 | 5 | #1,391 | |
| 1905 | under 5 | 5 | #1,400 | |
| 1904 | under 5 | 7 | #1,047 | |
| 1890 | under 5 | 5 | #1,139 | |
| 1885 | under 5 | 6 | #923 | |
| 1881 | under 5 | 5 | #982 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Shannon a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 348,161 Americans recorded as Shannon, 85% are girls and 15% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Shannon: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Shannon, and how old are they?
325,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 93% of the 348,161 Americans ever recorded as Shannon. The median Shannon alive today is 48 years old; half are between 39 and 54.
The 2020 Census counted 300,975 people named Shannon (261,919 women and girls, 39,056 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 330,393 born in the U.S. The Census count is 9% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 580 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 15,400 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 169,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 111,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 26,300 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,900 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Shannon born?
The states with the most babies named Shannon are California, Texas and New York, with 22% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 36,048 | #2,252 | 0.9× |
| Texas | 20,556 | #3,239 | 0.8× |
| New York | 18,857 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Ohio | 17,102 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 16,057 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Michigan | 15,070 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 14,646 | #1,102 | 0.8× |
| Florida | 14,388 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| North Carolina | 10,426 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Georgia | 9,849 | not ranked | 1.1× |
Where Shannon is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Shannon is most over-represented in Washington: since 1910 it was given 1.2 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Shannon with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 364,293 babies since 1880, Shannon is the most given (96% of them). In 2025 it was given to 116 of their 116 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
More about Shannon and names like it
- Compare Shannon and ShanonBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1970sShannon peaked in 1970.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Shannon since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Shannon: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1970The year the most babies were named Shannon.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Shannon alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with SMost given first.