Shannon - Meaning of Shannon

What does Shannon mean?

[ 2 syll. (s)han-non, sh-ann-on ] The baby girl name Shannon is also used as a boy name, though it is more popular for girls. It is pronounced -SHAENNahN †. Shannon has its origins in the Celtic language and it is used largely in English. The first name is of disputed origin. It could be derived from the name of River Shannon, Ireland's longer river, which is itself of the elements sean (meaning 'old, wise') and abhainn ('river'), or else it could be from a contracted form of the Irish name Seanán. The first name is however not used much in Ireland; another derivation suggests that it is a modern invention, from the combination of Shane and Sharon.

The name Shannon is used to a great extent; it has 27 forms. Forms of the name include Channa, Lashannon, Shan, Shanan, Shanandoah, Shandy, Shani, Shanine, Shann, Shanna (used in Russian too), Shannae, Shannah, Shanneen, Shannie, Shannin, Shannondoah, Shannun, Shannyn, Shanyn, Shauna, Shawna, Shawni, and Sheannon. Other English forms include the spelling variants Channon, Shannan, Shannen, and Shanon.

See also the related forms, Sha, Seanán.

Shannon is an all-time favorite. Today it is still somewhat popular as a baby girl name, but to a lesser degree than it was previously. The name grew in popularity from the 1930s up to the 1970s; prior to that, it was of only very modest use. At the height of its usage in 1976, 0.851% of baby girls were named Shannon. It was #17 in rank then. The baby name has seen a substantial decline in frequency since then. In 2011, it ranked at #706 with a usage of 0.020%, but it was nevertheless the most popular within all girl names in its family. Shannon was used 22% more than the next ranked name, Sharon, in 2011. Shannon has primarily been a baby girl name in the last century. In 2006, 5 times more baby girls than boys were given the name Shannon.

Baby names that sound like Shannon include Shannan, Shannen, Saaman, Saima, Saimah, Saimma, Sajnee, Sajney, Sajni, Sajnie, Sajny, Sama, Samah, Samaya, Sameena, Sameh, Samey, Sami, Samie, and Samine.

† Pronunciation for Shannon: SH as in "she (SH.IY)" ; AE as in "at (AE.T)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; AH as in "mud (M.AH.D)"

Details of famous persons named Shannon:
Actress Shannon Elizabeth, born 7 September 1976, Houston, Texas.
Actress Shannon Tweed, born 10 March 1957, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.