Recorded 1881–2025 · United States
Shannon was most popular in 1970, when 16,118 American babies were given the name — ranking #41 that year. In 2025 it ranked #3,201, with 116 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 348,161 people named Shannon.
Shannon first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1881, which makes it about 144 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 122 of the 145 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 348,161 American births named Shannon between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 327,652 are estimated to be alive today.
116 American babies were named Shannon in 2025, ranking #3,201 that year.
Shannon is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 150 births a year, against 393 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -62% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Shannon is mostly a girl’s name — 85.0% of the 348,161 Americans given it were girls and 15.0% were boys. It changed hands: since 1937 it has gone mainly to girls, having gone mainly to boys before that. In births since 2016 it is 68% girls and 32% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 327,652 Americans named Shannon are alive today — 94% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 48 years old, and half are between 39 and 54.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
Irish · the river, "old river"
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Shannon on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org