Shannon is an Irish name,

Anglicised Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

from Sionainn. Alternative spellings include Shannen, Shanon, Shannan, Seanan, and Siannon. The variant Shanna is an Anglicisation of Sionna. ''Sionainn'' derives from the Irish name ''Abha na tSionainn'' for the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( or archaic ') is the major river on the island of Ireland, and at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of I ...

. Because the suffix ''ain'' indicates a

diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...

in Irish, the name is sometimes mistranslated as 'little wise one', but means 'possessor of wisdom'. Some derive the denomination of Shannon ( Irish: Sionnain) from the phrase ''sean-amhan'' or "old river." Another reported derivation is from ''Ó Seanaigh,'' "descendant of Seanach", which yielded the surnames Shanahan and Shannon.

Namesake

The name ''Sionainn'' alludes to Sionna, a goddess in

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...

whose name means 'possessor of wisdom'. She is the

namesake A namesake is a person, place, or thing bearing the name of another. Most commonly, it refers to an individual who is purposely named after another (e.g. John F. Kennedy Jr would be the namesake of John F. Kennedy). In common parlance, it may ...

and matron of Sionainn, the

. The Shannon is the longest river in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and in the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

. Sionainn is one of seven rivers of knowledge said to flow from Connla's Well, the well of wisdom in the

Celtic Otherworld In Celtic mythology, the Otherworld is the realm of the Celtic deities, deities and possibly also the dead. In Gaels, Gaelic and Celtic Britons, Brittonic myth it is usually a supernatural realm of everlasting youth, beauty, health, abundance an ...

(the realm of the dead). Legends vary about the creation of the river, but they all recount the drowning of the Sionna, granddaughter of the great sea god

Lir Lir or Ler (meaning "Sea" in Old Irish; ''Ler'' and ''Lir'' are the nominative and genitive forms, respectively) is a sea god in Irish mythology. His name suggests that he is a personification of the sea, rather than a distinct deity. He is na ...

, usually at an undersea well. According to the legend, nine sacred

hazel Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K ...

(or, by some accounts,

rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus'' of the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the Himalaya ...

) trees grow near the well, and drop their bright red fruit in it and on the ground. In the well live the Salmon of Knowledge, whose wisdom comes from eating this fruit. By eating the fruit or one of the salmon, one can share in this wisdom.

Shortened forms

Shana and Shanna are familiar diminutives or forms of Shannon or Sionna.

Popularity

In the United States, the name first appeared on the

Social Security Administration The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government that administers Social Security (United ...

's list in 1881 for males.popular name list
/ref> During the 1970s, American parents began to confer the name on boys and girls alike. It was during this time that the name's popularity peaked in the United States. In the 1990

United States Census The United States census (plural censuses or census) is a census that is legally mandated by the Constitution of the United States. It takes place every ten years. The first census after the American Revolution was taken in 1790 United States ce ...

, ''Shannon'' was the 317th most common name for American males.

Women

* Shannon (born 1958), American singer * Shannon Applegate, American historian * Shannon Ashlyn (born 1986), Australian actress * Shannon Aubert (born 1995), French golfer *

Shannon Bahrke Shannon Bahrke (born November 7, 1980) is an American Winter Olympics, Olympic freestyle skiing, freestyle skier and entrepreneur. Bahrke was the silver medalist in Mogul skiing, Moguls at the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City and went ...

(born 1980), American freestyle skier * Shannon Baker (born 1980), New Zealand Rugby player * Shannon Barnett (born 1982), American composer * Shannon Bell (born 1955), Canadian performance philosopher * Shannon Beveridge (born 1992), American YouTube personality * Shannon Bex (born 1980), American singer * Shannon Birchard (born 1994), Canadian curler * Shannon Bilbray-Axelrod (born 1973), American politician * Shannon Bobbitt (born 1985), American basketball player * Shannon Bolin (1917–2016), American actress and singer * Shannon Boxx (born 1977), American soccer player * Shannon Bramer (born 1973), Canadian poet *

Shannon Bream Shannon Noelle Bream ( DePuy; born December 23, 1970) is an American journalist and Lawyer, attorney who is a host of ''Fox News Sunday'' on Fox News. She is also chief legal correspondent for the channel. In 2022, she became host of ''Fox News S ...

(born 1970), American journalist * Shannon Campbell (born 1996), Australian footballer * Shannon Cassidy (1961–1999), American voice actress *

Shannon Chan-Kent Shannon Chan-Kent (born September 23, 1988) is a Canadian voice and stage actress. She is known for her roles as Silver Spoon and Smolder and the singing voice of Pinkie Pie in ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'', Misa Amane in the Englis ...

(born 1988), Canadian voice actress * Shannon Click (born 1983), American model * Shannon Cochran (born 1958), American actress * Shannon Conley, American actress * Shannon Corbett, Canadian politician * Shannon Crawford (born 1963), Canadian rower * Shannon Cunneen (born 1977), Australian cricketer * Shannon Curfman (born 1985), American singer *

Shannon Curtis Shannon Curtis is an American singer, songwriter, musician, storyteller, and author. Early life and first band Curtis grew up in Stockton, California, and was raised Baptist. Curtis grew up listening to Contemporary Christian music, as well as ...

, American dreampop singer * Shannon Dawdy (born 1967), American historian * Shannon Day (1896–1977), American actress * Shannon Delany, American author *

Shannen Doherty Shannen Maria Doherty (; April 12, 1971 – July 13, 2024) was an American actress. During her career Shannen Doherty filmography, in film and television, Doherty played a number of notable characters, including Jenny Wilder in ''Little House o ...

(1971–2024), American actress * Shannon Rogers Duckworth, American bishop * Shannon Elizabeth (born 1973), American actress * Shannon Flynn (born 1996), English actress * Shannon Galpin (born 1974), American film producer * Shannon Galpin (born 1974), American film producer * Shannon Grove (born 1965), American politician * Shannon Hale (born 1974), American author * Shannon Jackson, American author and performance theorist * Shannon Kane (born 1986), American actress *

Shannon Lee Shannon Emery Lee Keasler (born April 19, 1969) is an American actress, businesswoman, singer, and martial artist. She is the only living child of actor and martial artist Bruce Lee and retired martial arts teacher Linda Lee Cadwell, and is t ...

(born 1969), American actress and businesswoman * Shannon Lucid (born 1943), American biochemist and astronaut * Shannon Lynn (born 1985), Scottish footballer *

Shannon Magrane Shannon Renee' Magrane (born October 21, 1995) is an American singer from Tampa, Florida, who finished in eleventh place on the American Idol (season 11), eleventh season of ''American Idol.'' Early life and education Her father is former St. Lo ...

(born 1995), American singer * Shannon Mato (born 1998), Australian rugby league player * Shannon McRandle (born 1969), American makeup artist and model * Shannon Miller (born 1977), American artistic gymnast * Shannon Murphy, Australian director * Shannon O'Neill (comedian), American comedian * Shannon O'Neill (politician) (born 1937), Canadian politician * Shannon Osika (born 1993), American middle-distance runner * Shannon Purser (born 1997), American actress * Shannon Ray (born 1995), American sprinter * Shannon Richardson (born 1977), American actress and convicted felon * Shannon Spruill (1975–2021), American professional wrestler, wrestling manager and actress performing as Daffney * Shannon C. Stimson (born 1951), American political theorist *

Shannon Stubbs Shannon Stubbs (born December 8, 1979) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Lakeland in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 federal election. She was re-elected to represent the same riding in the 2019 ...

(born 1979), Canadian politician * Shannon Tweed (born 1957), Canadian actress * Shannon Walker (born 1965), American astronaut and physicist * Shannon Whirry, American actor *

Shannon Arrum Williams Shannon Arrum Williams (born 26 May 1998), known mononymously as Shannon, is a British streamer and former singer. In South Korea, she is known for being a contestant of ''K-pop Star 6: The Last Chance''. Prior to debut, Shannon has released tw ...

(born 1998), Korean singer

Men

Shannon Bennett Shannon Bennett (born 23 November 1975) is an Australian chef and author. He is best known as the head chef of restaurant Vue de Monde at Melbourne's Rialto Tower. Bennett currently serves as the creative director at the restaurant and its pare ...

(born 1975), Australian chef and author * Shannon Birchall, Australian born musician * Shannon Blunt, American radar engineer * Shannon Boatman (born 1984), Canadian football player * Shannon Breen (born 1989), American football player * Shannon Boyd (born 1992), Australian football player * Shannon Boyd-Bailey McCune (1913–1993), American geographer * Shannon Briggs (born 1971), American professional boxer * Shannon Brown (born 1985), American Basketball player * Shannon Breen (born 1989), American football player * Shannon Clavelle (born 1973), American football player * Shannon Cole (born 1984), Australian NJ football player * Shannon Corcoran (born 1971), American football player * Shannon Culver (born 1971), Canadian football player * Shannon Dallas (born 1977), Australian skier * Shannon Denton, American storyteller * Shannon Hegarty (born 1979), Australian rugby league player * Richard Shannon Hoon, rock musician from Indiana * Shannon Leto (born 1970), American drummer * Shannon Mitchell (born 1972), American football player * Shannon Nevin (born 1976), Australian rugby league player *

Shannon Noll Shannon Noll (born 16 September 1975) is an Australian singer-songwriter who first came to prominence as runner-up of the first season of '' Australian Idol'' in 2003, which led to him being signed to Sony BMG. He has released five top-ten al ...

(born 1975), Australian singer * Shannon Seebohm (born 1988), Australian basketball coach * Shannon Sharpe (born 1968), American football player * Shannon Charles Thomas (1971–2005), American murderer * Shannon Wakeman (born 1990), Australian rugby league player * Shannon Wheeler, American cartoonist * Shannon Zimmerman (born 1972), American politician

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shannon (given name) English unisex given names English-language unisex given names Irish unisex given names Irish-language unisex given names

Namesake

Shortened forms

Popularity

Women

Men

See also

References