Molly Shannon
There are approximately 23 people named Molly Shannon living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 14,902,363 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Molly with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Shannon. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
23
1 in 14,902,363
Named Molly
155K
Alive today
Named Shannon
50K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 155K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1991
Average age: 32
Top Census group: White (90.9%)
Estimated bearers: 50K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #767
Per 100K: 14.73
Top ancestry: White (72.3%)
First name trend
Molly: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Molly. The peak year was 1991 with 4,663 births. The average person named Molly today is 32 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Molly
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Molly, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 90.9%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Molly described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Molly at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White90.9% · 139,560
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 4,961
- Two or more races2.5% · 3,765
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 3,145
- Black or African American0.9% · 1,393
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 635
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Shannon surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Shannon, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 72.3%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Shannon described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Shannon at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White72.3% · 31,839
- Black or African American19.2% · 8,456
- Two or more races3.9% · 1,726
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 1,544
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 307
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 158
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Molly has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0452% of the US population, based on 154,836 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Molly right now.
The surname Shannon appears at a rate of 14.73 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0147%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 23 people with the full name Molly Shannon. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Molly
FAQ
Molly Shannon: questions and answers
How many people are named Molly Shannon?
We estimate approximately 23 people in the United States share the full name Molly Shannon. That works out to about 1 in 14,902,363 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0452%) with the surname frequency (14.73 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Molly Shannon?
We classify Molly Shannon as "Very Rare". About 1 in 14,902,363 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Molly a male or female name?
Molly is predominantly female. Out of 174,877 total SSA registrations, 0.2% were male and 99.8% were female. See the full Molly profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many people are named Molly Shannon?
See how common the name Molly Shannon is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.