Gannon
A masculine name of Irish origin meaning "fair-skinned, bright".
Name Census estimates that about 6,526 living Americans carry the first name Gannon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gannon today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gannon births was 2014 (751 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gannon. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Gannon is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 17 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
6.5K
~ 1 in 52,521 Americans
Peak year
2014
751 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,861
Tracked since 1966
Census
Gannon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,499 people with the first name Gannon, which placed it at #3,695 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#3,695
National first-name rank
People counted
5.5K
5,499 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
87.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gannon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gannon is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Hispanic (4.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Gannon described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Gannon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.3% · 4,801
- Two or more races5.0% · 276
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 255
- Black or African American1.7% · 96
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 49
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 22
Gender
Gender distribution for Gannon
Out of the 6,616 babies given the name Gannon since 1880, 99.9% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Gannon as a male name
- Ranked #1,861 in 2024
- 86 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2014 (751 births)
Gannon as a female name
- Ranked #17,361 in 2015
- 5 female births in 2015
- Peak: 2015 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gannon leans strongly male. 5,442 people counted with this name were male (99.0%), compared with 56 female bearers (1.0%).
Popularity
Gannon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gannon from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 3,040 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gannon by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Gannon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gannons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 38 states and territories. California, Ohio, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Gannon, while New Hampshire, Nevada, Idaho recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 117 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gannon
The name Gannon has its origins in the Gaelic language and can be traced back to ancient Ireland. It is derived from the Irish word "gann" which means "fair" or "lean." The name is thought to have been initially used as a descriptive term for someone with a slender or fair appearance.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gannon can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century. The text mentions a figure named Gannon mac Scandail, who lived in the 6th century and was a member of the Uí Bairrche clan in County Carlow.
In the 9th century, a renowned Irish scholar and philosopher named Gannon of Bangor lived and taught at the monastic school of Bangor Abbey in County Down. He was highly respected for his wisdom and contributed significantly to the intellectual and spiritual life of early medieval Ireland.
During the Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century, a notable figure named Gannon O'Rourke fought against the Norman forces. He was a member of the ruling O'Rourke dynasty in the Kingdom of Breifne, which covered parts of modern-day counties Leitrim and Cavan.
In the 16th century, a Franciscan friar named Gannon Nagle gained recognition for his work in establishing schools and promoting education in Ireland. He was born in County Cork around 1570 and played a significant role in preserving Irish culture and learning during a period of English colonial rule.
Another historical figure with the name Gannon was an Irish patriot and rebel leader from the late 18th century named Gannon Ivers. He participated in the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and was later executed by British forces for his role in the uprising against English rule in Ireland.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Gannon, reflecting its deep roots in Irish culture and tradition.
People
Gannon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gannon as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gannon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gannon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6,526 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gannon going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 52,521 US residents.
Is Gannon a common name?
We classify Gannon as "Rare". It ranks above 97.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,616 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gannon most popular?
The single biggest year for Gannon was 2014, when 751 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gannon is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gannon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,499 people with the name Gannon, or 1.82 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,695 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Gannon in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Gannon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gannon leans strongly male. 5,442 people counted with this name were male (99.0%), compared with 56 female bearers (1.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Gannon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gannon is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and Hispanic (4.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Gannon most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Gannon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.3% (4,801 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Gannon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gannon a male name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Gannon in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Gannon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gannon in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Gannon can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Gannon?
You can see how many Americans are named Gannon on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.