Shannon
Pronounced SH AA1 N AA1 N (ARPABET)
- 2 syllables
- Peaked 1970
- 113 years in use
- 2 spellings
How popular is Shannon?
Shannon is a name given to both boys and girls, and first appears in 1912. It has been given to 356,666 children — the 142nd most common girls' name on record.
It is falling away, down 75% on the previous decade. Its best single year was 1970, when 13,874 children were given it.
Two other spellings are counted in that total — Shanon and Shannen — because they are pronounced identically.
Roughly 15% of children named Shannon are boys, so the split is a real one rather than a rounding error.
Spelling variants
These spellings sound identical to Shannon and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.
- Shanon
- Shannen
Characteristics
- 2 syllables
Phonetic detail
- Pronunciations:
- SH AA1 N AA1 N · SH AE1 N AH0 N
- Stress pattern:
- 11 · 10
- Syllables:
- 2
Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.
Names like Shannon
Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.
Sibling names for Shannon
Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.
Frequently asked questions
- How popular is the name Shannon?
- Shannon ranks 142nd among girls' names in US records, with 356,666 births since 1912. Over the past decade it accounts for 1,458.
- Is Shannon a unisex name?
- Yes. About 15% of children given the name are boys, which is a genuine split rather than a rounding error.
- When was Shannon most popular?
- 1970, when 13,874 children were given the name. It has been in use for 113 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
- How else is Shannon spelled?
- Shanon, Shannen. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.