Recorded 1931–2025 · United States
Shawn was most popular in 1971, when 14,688 American babies were given the name — ranking #42 that year. In 2025 it ranked #1,346, with 412 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 339,597 people named Shawn.
Shawn first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1931, which makes it about 94 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 92 of the 95 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 339,597 American births named Shawn 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 310,976 are estimated to be alive today.
412 American babies were named Shawn in 2025, ranking #1,346 that year.
Shawn is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 489 births a year, against 1,191 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -59% 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 Shawn is mostly a boy’s name — 9.7% of the 339,597 Americans given it were girls and 90.3% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 2% girls and 98% 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 310,976 Americans named Shawn are alive today — 92% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 48 years old, and half are between 36 and 55.
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 · form of Sean, "God is gracious"
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Shawn on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org