boy's name
Shane
SHAYN
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 233,714
the United States
#635
2025 births
Shane is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "God is gracious," and it exists because English speakers wrote down how Ulster pronounced Seán. It ranks 154th in Ireland and 635th in the United States.
- Shane is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in 1973, when 5,931 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 7,552 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1933.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Shane over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1930s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1930s | 36 |
| 1940s | 195 |
| 1950s | 2,740 |
| 1960s | 14,257 |
| 1970s | 51,542 |
| 1980s | 43,873 |
| 1990s | 41,152 |
| 2000s | 26,432 |
| 2010s | 12,685 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,254 |
What Shane means
Shane means God is gracious. The sense belongs to the Hebrew Yohanan rather than to anything Irish — the name is John, arrived at through Norman French, Irish and then English spelling in turn.
Where Shane comes from
Shane is a phonetic spelling of Seán as it is said in Ulster, where the vowel is broader than in the south — Ulster says SHAYN where Munster says SHAWN, and both spellings entered English from the pronunciation each heard. Seán itself came into Irish from the Norman French Jehan rather than from Latin, and behind that is the Hebrew Yohanan, God is gracious. Shane's American life is almost entirely one film: the 1953 Western starring Alan Ladd, whose closing call of Shane, come back is among the most quoted lines in Hollywood. The name entered the American top 100 after it and stayed for decades. Shayne and Shain are further respellings, and the surname O'Shane does not exist — Shane is a given name in origin rather than a family one.
Shane in use
Shane ranks 154th in Ireland with 34 births in 2025 and 635th in the United States with 439 births, and it is falling in our data from a peak in 1973 — two decades after the film, which is the usual lag for a name driven by one release. Our records carry it from 1933. It appears in every English-speaking market we hold.
How popular is Shane?
In 2025, Shane was given to 439 babies in the United States, ranking #635 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Shane is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Shane
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Shane also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Shane over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Shane in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Shane
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Shane — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Shane
What does the name Shane mean?
Shane means "God is gracious," inherited from John by way of the Irish Seán.
What is the difference between Shane and Sean?
Shane spells the Ulster pronunciation of Seán; Shaun spells the Munster one. Same name, two accents.
Did the film make Shane popular?
The 1953 Western drove it into the American top 100, and our data shows the peak two decades later.
How popular is Shane?
154th in Ireland and 635th in the United States.
Is Shane a girl's or a boy's name?
Shane is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Shane?
Shane has 1 syllable.
Is Shane a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Shane currently ranks #154 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.