U.S. first-name statistics

How common is Shannon?

Shannon was the #171 most frequent first name in the 2020 Census.

People with the first name Shannon

300,975

About 1 in 1,101 Americans had this first name in the 2020 Census.

Measured, privacy-protected national Census count—not a total of historical baby-name records.

National rank

#171

More common than 99.7% of listed first names

Peak year

1970

16,118 SSA-recorded births

2025 births

116

#3,203 across first names

Census frequency

1 in 1,101

Across the 2020 U.S. population

Sex distribution

Reported in the 2020 Census first-name table.

13.0% male87.0% female

Demographic distribution

Aggregated race and Hispanic-origin reporting in the 2020 Census name table.

White, non-Hispanic83.0%
Black, non-Hispanic8.07%
American Indian / Alaska Native0.92%
Asian / Pacific Islander1.19%
Two or more races3.72%
Hispanic or Latino3.09%

Reading the result

Shannon across two different records

The Census count answers “how many people had this name?” using a national snapshot of living residents in 2020. The SSA series answers “when was this name popular?” using Social Security card applications associated with births.

Shannon reached its highest published annual SSA count in 1970, with 16,118 recorded births. In 2025, SSA recorded 116 babies with the name.

Names do not determine a person’s identity. Demographic percentages above describe national aggregates and should never be applied to an individual.

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