boy's name
Shawn
SHAWN
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 350,321
the United States
#681
2025 births
Shawn is a boy's name, the phonetic American respelling of the Irish Seán, which is itself the Irish form of John. It peaked in 1971, ranks 681st in the United States, and does not chart in Ireland at all.
- Shawn is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in 1971, when 14,688 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 8,047 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1931.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Shawn 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 | 64 |
| 1940s | 720 |
| 1950s | 10,456 |
| 1960s | 60,882 |
| 1970s | 117,152 |
| 1980s | 68,302 |
| 1990s | 43,546 |
| 2000s | 24,543 |
| 2010s | 10,819 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,113 |
What Shawn means
Shawn means God is gracious, carried through Seán from John and ultimately from the Hebrew Yochanan. The respelling changes only how the name looks, not what it means.
Where Shawn comes from
Shawn writes down the sound of the Irish Seán, which came into Irish from the Norman French Jehan — the same source as John, arriving in Ireland with the Anglo-Norman invasion rather than through Latin. So Seán is a French import that became one of the most Irish names there is, and Shawn is an American attempt to spell it without the fada. Shaun and Sean are the other two common forms, and our records hold them separately: the accent-free Sean is the most used, with Shawn and Shaun following. About 10 percent of births recorded under Shawn are female.
Shawn in use
Shawn peaked in the United States in 1971, when 14,688 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 681st in the United States on 412 births, 750th in Scotland, 1315th in England and Wales on 21 and 1978th in France, across 350,321 lifetime births in five of the seven markets we track. It does not currently chart in Ireland, where the Seán spelling carries the demand instead.
How popular is Shawn?
In 2025, Shawn was given to 412 babies in the United States, ranking #681 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Shawn 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 Shawn
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Shawn also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Shawn over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Shawn 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 Shawn
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Shawn — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Shawn
What does the name Shawn mean?
God is gracious, carried through the Irish Seán from John.
Is it Shawn, Sean or Shaun?
All three are in use. Sean is the most common in our records; Shawn is the American phonetic spelling.
Is Seán an Irish name?
Thoroughly, though it came into Irish from Norman French rather than from Latin.
How popular is Shawn?
681st in the United States, down from a 1971 peak of 14,688 births.
Is Shawn a girl's or a boy's name?
Shawn is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Shawn?
Shawn has 1 syllable.
Is Shawn a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Shawn currently ranks #597 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.