Shann
A shortened version of Shannon, a gender-neutral Irish name meaning "wise" or "old".
Name Census estimates that about 439 living Americans carry the first name Shann. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 56.8% of registrations being male. The average person named Shann today is around 53 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shann births was 1970 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shann. 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
- • Shann was once a predominantly female name but has become increasingly popular for boys in recent decades.
People living today
439
~ 1 in 780,762 Americans
Peak year
1970
32 babies that year
Average age
53
years old
2006 SSA rank
#11,829
Tracked since 1950
Census
Shann in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 584 people with the first name Shann, which placed it at #18,453 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
#18,453
National first-name rank
People counted
584
584 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shann
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shann is White at 62.3%. The next largest groups are Black (16.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.4%). 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 Shann 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 Shann at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.3% · 364
- Black or African American16.6% · 97
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.4% · 61
- Two or more races4.8% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Shann
Shann is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 495 total registrations, 281 (56.8%) were male and 214 (43.2%) were female.
Shann as a male name
- Ranked #11,829 in 2006
- 6 male births in 2006
- Peak: 1976 (20 births)
Shann as a female name
- Ranked #12,140 in 1985
- 5 female births in 1985
- Peak: 1977 (16 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Shann on both sides of the split. Of the 584 people counted with this name, 286 were male (49.0%) and 298 were female (51.0%).
Popularity
Shann: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shann from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 221 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shann 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 Shann during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shanns live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shann
The name Shann is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, which was widely spoken in ancient India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "shanti," which means peace, tranquility, or calmness. The name gained popularity during the Vedic period, which spanned from approximately 1500 BCE to 500 BCE.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Shann can be found in the Vedas, a collection of ancient Hindu scriptures. In the Upanishads, a section of the Vedas, the concept of "shanti" is discussed in relation to achieving inner peace and harmony. It is possible that the name Shann was chosen to reflect this spiritual aspiration.
In the 5th century BCE, there was a renowned Indian philosopher named Shann Bhatta, who was a prominent figure in the Nyaya school of Hindu philosophy. He is known for his contributions to the development of logic and epistemology in ancient India.
During the medieval period, the name Shann was associated with several notable figures in Indian history. One such figure was Shann Singh, a warrior and ruler who lived in the 16th century. He played a significant role in the resistance against the Mughal Empire and is remembered for his bravery and leadership.
In more recent times, the name Shann has been carried by individuals from various backgrounds and professions. Shann Singh Bundela was an Indian freedom fighter who participated in the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule in the early 20th century.
Another notable figure was Shann Ahmed Khan, a Pakistani cricketer who played for the national team in the 1970s and 1980s. He was known for his exceptional batting skills and is considered one of the greatest Pakistani cricketers of his era.
Shann Nix was an American musician and songwriter who gained popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. He was best known for his work with the band Fleetwood Mac and his collaborations with other renowned artists.
While the name Shann may have its roots in ancient Sanskrit, it has transcended cultural boundaries and been embraced by individuals from diverse backgrounds and regions around the world, each adding their own unique stories and contributions to the legacy of this name.
People
Shann + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shann as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Shann: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shann?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 439 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shann 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 780,762 US residents.
Is Shann a common name?
We classify Shann as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 495 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shann most popular?
The single biggest year for Shann was 1970, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shann is about 53 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shann in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 584 people with the name Shann, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,453 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 Shann 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 Shann?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Shann on both sides of the split. Of the 584 people counted with this name, 286 were male (49.0%) and 298 were female (51.0%). 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 Shann?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shann is White at 62.3%. The next largest groups are Black (16.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.4%). 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 Shann most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shann in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.3% (364 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 Shann in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shann a male name?
Yes, 56.8% of people registered as Shann 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 Shann still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shann 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 Shann 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 Shann?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.