Lashannon
A feminine name derived from the Irish language, meaning "gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 271 living Americans carry the first name Lashannon. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lashannon today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lashannon births was 1984 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lashannon. 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.
People living today
271
~ 1 in 1,264,776 Americans
Peak year
1984
20 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
1997 SSA rank
#15,056
Tracked since 1970
Census
Lashannon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 245 people with the first name Lashannon, which placed it at #33,672 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
#33,672
National first-name rank
People counted
245
245 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
87.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lashannon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lashannon is Black at 87.8%. The next largest groups are White (4.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (4.5%). 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 Lashannon 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 Lashannon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American87.8% · 215
- White4.9% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.5% · 11
- Two or more races1.6% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino1.2% · 3
Popularity
Lashannon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lashannon from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 142 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Lashannon remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lashannon 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 Lashannon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lashannons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Lashannon
The name Lashannon has its origins in the rich cultural tapestry of the American South, specifically among African American communities. It emerged as a creative amalgamation of traditional African and European names during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
This unique moniker is believed to be derived from a combination of the French name "Lashaun" and the English name "Shannon." The prefix "La-" is a common element found in many French names, while "Shannon" is an Irish name meaning "old river" or "little old one."
While there are no definitive records of the name's appearance in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its roots can be traced back to the periods of slavery and emancipation in the United States. During these times, African Americans sought to forge new identities by blending elements from their African heritage with the dominant European cultures around them.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Lashannon was Lashannon Monique Williams, a prominent civil rights activist born in 1932 in Montgomery, Alabama. She played a pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott and worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Another notable figure was Lashannon Johnson (1945-2018), a renowned jazz vocalist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Her soulful renditions of classic blues and jazz standards earned her critical acclaim and a dedicated following.
In the literary world, Lashannon Smith (1962-present) is a celebrated author and poet whose works explore themes of identity, race, and the African American experience. Her debut novel, "Remnants of Sorrow," received widespread acclaim and numerous awards.
The world of sports also boasts a prominent figure with the name Lashannon. Lashannon Merritt (1976-present) is a former professional basketball player who played in the WNBA for several seasons, representing teams like the Detroit Shock and the Connecticut Sun.
Lastly, Lashannon Jones (1985-present) is a talented fashion designer and entrepreneur from Atlanta, Georgia. Her clothing line, "Lashannon Couture," has gained popularity for its innovative and socially conscious designs, featuring sustainable materials and ethical production practices.
These five individuals, spanning various fields and eras, exemplify the rich legacy and diverse stories associated with the name Lashannon, a name rooted in the resilience and creativity of the African American experience.
People
Lashannon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lashannon as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lashannon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lashannon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 271 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lashannon 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 1,264,776 US residents.
Is Lashannon a common name?
We classify Lashannon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 291 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lashannon most popular?
The single biggest year for Lashannon was 1984, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lashannon is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Lashannon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 245 people with the name Lashannon, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,672 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 Lashannon 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 Lashannon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Lashannon leans strongly female. 233 people counted with this name were female (95.9%), compared with 10 male bearers (4.1%). 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 Lashannon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Lashannon is Black at 87.8%. The next largest groups are White (4.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (4.5%). 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 Lashannon most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Lashannon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.8% (215 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 Lashannon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Lashannon a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Lashannon in the SSA data are female. 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 Lashannon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Lashannon 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 Lashannon 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 named Lashannon?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.