ninan.org

Shawn

Boys' name · Late 20th-century

Living in the US
~312,600 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#681 among boys
Births in 2025
412 339,597 since 1880
Typical age
47 years, median

Shawn popularity over time

Shawn rank by birth year, 1931–2025Shawn ranked #3,390 in 1931 and #681 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #27, in 1973.#100#1,000#681best #27 in 197319401960198020002020
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1931–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

The high point was 1971: 14,688 births recorded as Shawn. The name does not appear in the data until 1931. It has held a top-100 place in 32 separate years.

As of 2025 the name sits at #681, with 412 births that year. Over ten years the count has fallen 58%. Year on year the rank dropped by 45.

Babies named Shawn per yearPeaks at 14,688 births in 1971.14,688 in 1971019401960198020002020
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Shawn?

About 312,600 people named Shawn are alive in the United States today. SSA has recorded 339,597 births under the name since 1880. The split is about 30,400 women and 282,100 men.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Shawn?

Median age among living Shawns: 47. More of them were born in the 1970s than in any other decade. By the site’s era rules that makes Shawn a late 20th-century name.

Your Shawn

Ages of living people named ShawnHalf of living Shawns are older than 47 and half younger.median 47020406080
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Shawn is most common

Relative to births, Delaware carries 2.2× the national share of Shawns. Maryland, Pennsylvania and Kentucky follow.

Where Shawn is used more than average5 states use the name Shawn more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: 1.8× the national ratePANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: 1.7× the national rateKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: 1.9× the national rateMDDelaware: 2.2× the national rateDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: 1.6× the national rateLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Shawn is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Delaware 23 2.2×
Maryland 171 1.9×
Pennsylvania 353 1.8×
Kentucky 120 1.7×
Louisiana 119 1.6×

Shawn in England and Wales

ONS recorded 21 births named Shawn in 2025, ranking it #1,307. That is 40% higher than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Shawn comes from

A variant of Sean, from Irish Seán, from Old French Jehan, from Latin Jōhannēs, variant of Iōannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης, from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן. Doublet of Evan, Giovanni, Ian, Ivan, Jack, Jean, Johan, Johann, Johannes, John, Juan, Sean, Shane, Shaun as a male name. Doublet of Ivana, Jana, Jane, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shane, Shaun, Shauna, Sheena as a female name.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Shawn

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Shawn Mendes Canadian singer 1998 72
Shawn Michaels American professional wrestler 1965 49
Shawn Levy Canadian fimmaker 1968 41
Shawn Marion American basketball player 1978 39
Shawn Ashmore Canadian actor 1979 38
Shawn Wayans American actor, DJ, producer, writer and comedian 1971 34
Shawn Crahan American percussionist 1969 33
Shawn Johnson East American artistic gymnast 1992 33
Photo credits (7)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 309 in 1952 to 515 in 1953 — 1.7 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

How Shawn is usually spelled

Spellings within one or two letters of each other, and how 2025 births divided between them.
SpellingBirths in 2025Share
Sean 623 60%
Shawn this page 412 40%

Names similar to Shawn

Matched by sound and spelling inside this dataset, then ordered by total recorded births. This is not a claim about shared etymology.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/shawn.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).