Shannan
A feminine name of Irish origin signifying "wise" or "old."
Name Census estimates that about 4,988 living Americans carry the first name Shannan. It is a predominantly female name (94.2% of registrations). The average person named Shannan today is around 47 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shannan births was 1970 (305 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shannan. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Shannan with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
5.0K
~ 1 in 68,716 Americans
Peak year
1970
305 babies that year
Average age
47
years old
1999 SSA rank
#11,339
Tracked since 1950
Census
Shannan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,115 people with the first name Shannan, which placed it at #3,848 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
#3,848
National first-name rank
People counted
5.1K
5,115 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shannan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shannan is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.8%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Shannan 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 Shannan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.9% · 4,086
- Black or African American10.8% · 554
- Two or more races4.2% · 216
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 158
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 61
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 40
Gender
Gender distribution for Shannan
Shannan leans heavily female at 94.2% of total registrations, but 317 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Shannan as a male name
- Ranked #11,339 in 1999
- 5 male births in 1999
- Peak: 1974 (24 births)
Shannan as a female name
- Ranked #16,545 in 2012
- 6 female births in 2012
- Peak: 1969 (284 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shannan leans strongly female. 4,852 people counted with this name were female (94.8%), compared with 266 male bearers (5.2%).
Popularity
Shannan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shannan from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 2,352 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
Shannan 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 Shannan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shannans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 32 states and territories. California, Texas, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Shannan, while Oregon, Connecticut, Nebraska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 91 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shannan
The name Shannan is a variant spelling of the Irish name Shannon, which is derived from the name of the Shannon River, the longest river in Ireland. The name Shannon is believed to be derived from the Irish word "Sionna," meaning "old river" or "wise river."
The Shannon River has been an important part of Irish culture and history for centuries, and the name Shannon has been used as a personal name in Ireland for many generations. The earliest recorded use of the name Shannon dates back to the 16th century, when it was used as a surname.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shannan as a given name was in the 17th century. In 1642, a woman named Shannan O'Brien was born in County Clare, Ireland. She was a member of the influential O'Brien clan and is believed to be one of the first individuals to bear the name Shannan as a first name.
In the 18th century, the name Shannan gained popularity among Irish families, particularly those living in the regions along the Shannon River. One notable figure from this period was Shannan Keating (1713-1789), an Irish playwright and poet who was born in County Limerick.
As the Irish diaspora spread throughout the world, the name Shannan traveled with them. In the 19th century, Shannan Murphy (1823-1901) was an Irish immigrant to the United States who became a prominent businessman and philanthropist in New York City.
Another notable individual with the name Shannan was Shannan Sisk (1883-1962), an American author and journalist who was born in Tennessee. She wrote several books about the American South and was known for her vivid descriptions of rural life in the early 20th century.
In the 20th century, the name Shannan continued to be used, particularly in English-speaking countries with Irish heritage. Shannan Watts (1918-2004) was an Australian actress and singer who appeared in numerous stage productions and films throughout her career.
While the name Shannan is not as common as some other Irish names, it has a rich history and cultural significance, particularly in regions connected to the Shannon River and Irish heritage.
People
Shannan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shannan 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
Shannan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shannan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,988 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shannan 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 68,716 US residents.
Is Shannan a common name?
We classify Shannan as "Rare". It ranks above 96.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,479 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shannan most popular?
The single biggest year for Shannan was 1970, when 305 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shannan is about 47 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shannan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,115 people with the name Shannan, or 1.69 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,848 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 Shannan 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 Shannan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shannan leans strongly female. 4,852 people counted with this name were female (94.8%), compared with 266 male bearers (5.2%). 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 Shannan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shannan is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Black (10.8%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Shannan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shannan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.9% (4,086 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 Shannan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shannan a female name?
Yes, 94.2% of people registered as Shannan 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 Shannan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shannan 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 Shannan 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 share the name Shannan?
You can see how many people share the name Shannan on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.