How popular is the baby name Shannon in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Shannon.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Shannon


Posts that Mention the Name Shannon

Rare Girl Names from Early Cinema: P

patria, cinema, girl name, 1910s

Here’s the next installment of rare female names used by either the actresses or characters in very old films (1910s, 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s).

Paducah
Paducah Pomeroy was a character played by actress Aileen Pringle in the film Piccadilly Jim (1936).

Paget
Debra Paget was an actress who appeared in films from the 1940s to the 1960s. She was born in Colorado in 1933. Her birth name was Debralee Griffin.

  • Usage of the baby name Paget.

Palma
Palma May was a character played by actress Irene Castle in the film French Heels (1922).

  • Usage of the baby name Palma.

Palola
Palola was a character played by actress Hilo Hattie in the film Song of the Islands (1942).

Panama
Panama Smith was a character played by actress Gladys George in the film The Roaring Twenties (1939).

Panca
Panca was a character played by actress Linda Arvidson in the short film The Stampede (1916).

Pancha
Pancha O’Brien was a character played by actress Geraldine Farrar in the film The Hell Cat (1918).

Panchita
Panchita was a character played by actress Conchita Montenegro in the film Laughing at Life (1933).

Pandora
Pandora La Croix was a character played by actress Viola Dana in the film As Man Desires (1925).

Panthea
Panthea Romoff was a character played by actress Norma Talmadge in the film Panthea (1917).

Papela
Papela was a character played by actress Gail Kenton in the film The Lure of the South Seas (1929).

Papeta
Papeta was a character played by actress Anne Schaefer in the short film The Prayers of Manuelo (1912).

Papinta
Papinta was a character played by actress Bessie Eyton in the short film The Little Organ Player of San Juan (1912).

Papita
Papita was a character played by the actress Clara Williams in the short film Papita’s Destiny (1913).

Parete
Parete was a character played by actress Dagmar Godowsky in the film The Altar Stairs (1922).

Parisette
Parisette was a character played by actress Sandra Milovanoff in the film Parisette (1921).

Parola
Parola was a character played by actress Helen Ware in the film Fascination (1922).

Parthenia
Parthenia was a character name in multiple films, including Ingomar, The Barbarian (1908) and Show Boat (1929).

Pasqualina
Pasqualina Carmetto was a character played by actress Mary Fuller in the short film Tony’s Oath of Vengeance (1912).

Patria
Patria Channing was a character played by actress Irene Castle in the film Patria (1917).

  • Usage of the baby name Patria (which saw an uptick in usage in 1917).

Patta
Patta Heberton was a character played by actress May Allison in the film The Come-Back (1916).

Patterson
Patterson Dial was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1920s. She was born in Florida in 1902. Her birth name was Elizabeth Patterson Dial.

Peaches
Peaches Jackson was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1930s. She was born in New York in 1913. Her birth name was Charlotte Jackson. Peaches was also a character played by actress May West in the film Every Day’s a Holiday (1937).

Peavey
Peavey was a character played by actress Olive Borden in the film Leave It to Me (1933).

Peg
Peg Entwistle was an actress who appeared in one film in 1932 (and, the same year, committed suicide by jumping off the H of the Hollywoodland sign). She was born in Wales in 1908. Her birth name was Millicent Lilian Entwistle. Peg was also a character played by actress Anna Neagle in the film Peg of Old Drury (1935).

  • Usage of the baby name Peg.

Pegeen
Pegeen O’Barry was a character played by actress Pauline Starke in the film Irish Eyes (1918).

  • Usage of the baby name Pegeen.

Peggie
Peggie Hurst was a character played by actress Chrissie White in the film A Temporary Vagabond (1920).

  • Usage of the baby name Peggie.

Peggy
Peggy Pearce (born a Velma) was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1920s. She was born in California in 1894. Peggy Cartwright was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1930s. She was born in Canada in 1912. Peggy Moran (Mary) was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1940s. She was born in Iowa in 1918. Peggy Ryan (Margaret) was an actress who appeared in films from the 1930s to the 1940s. She was born in California in 1924. Finally, Peggy was also a character name in multiple films including Peggy Lynn, Burglar (short 1915) and Confessions of a Co-Ed (1931).

  • Usage of the baby name Peggy.

Pelagia
Pelagia Walewska was a character played by actress Maria Ouspenskaya in the film Conquest (1937).

Pendola
Pendola Molloy was a character played by actress Karen Morley in the film Gabriel Over the White House (1933).

Penelopeia
Pénélopeia was a character played by actress Conchita Montenegro in the film Lumières de Paris (1938).

Peola
Peola was a character played by actress Fredi Wasghington in the film Imitation of Life (1934).

  • Usage of the baby name Peola (which saw an uptick in usage in 1935).

Pepita
Pepita was a character name in multiple films, including The Street Singer (1912) and The Pretty Sister of Jose (1915).

Peppina
Peppina was a character played by actress Mary Pickford in the film Poor Little Peppina (1916).

Peppy
Peppy Gilman was a character played by actress Dorothy Burgess in the film I Want a Divorce (1940).

Perdita
Perdita was a character name in multiple films, including In Old California (short, 1910) and The Demon (1918).

Periwinkle
Periwinkle was a character played by actress Mary Miles Minter in the film Periwinkle (1917).

Perka
Perka was a character played by actress Georgia Fursman in the film The Seven Sisters (1915).

Perpetua
Perpetua was a character name in multiple films, including The Arrival of Perpetua (1915) and Love’s Boomerang (1922).

Perrette
Perrette was a character played by actress Simone Vaudry in the film Fanfan la Tulipe (1925).

Persis
Persis was a character played by actress Mary Treen in the film The Great Man’s Lady (1942).

  • Usage of the baby name Persis.

Pert
Pert Kelton was an actress who appeared in films from the 1920s to the 1960s. She was born in Montana in 1907. Pert was also a character name in multiple films, including Danger! Women at Work (1943) and Take It Big (1944).

Pervaneh
Pervaneh was a character played by actress Greta Nissen in the film The Lady of the Harem (1926).

Petal
Petal Schultze was a character played by actress Amy Veness in the film Red Wagon (1933).

  • Usage of the baby name Petal.

Petaluma
Petaluma was a character played by actress Vivian Rich in the short film A Blowout at Santa Banana (1914).

Petrie
Petrie was a character played by actress Claire Du Brey in the film Oh, What a Night! (1944).

Petrina
Petrina Faneuil was a character played by actress Pauline Frederick in the film Let Not Man Put Assunder (1924).

Petronell
Petronell was a character played by actress Helen “Bunty” Payne in the film The Farmer’s Wife (1941).

Pette
Pette San was a character played by actress Mary Fuller in the short film An Almond-Eyed Maid (1913).

Pettie
Pettie Wilson was a character played by actress Gwen Lee in the film The Boy Friend (1926).

Pheasant
Pheasant Vaughan Whiteoak was a character played by actress Molly Lamont in the film Jalna (1935).

Phemie
Phemie was a character name in multiple films, including The Man Hater (1917) and La Bohème (1926).

Philena
Philena Mortimer was a character played by actress Helene Chadwick in the film From the Ground Up (1921).

Philine
Philine was a character played by actress Xenia Desni in the film Pariserinnen (1921).

Phillipa
Phillipa was a character name in multiple films, including The Flash of an Emerald (1915) and Risky Business (1920).

Phronsie
Sophronia “Phronsie” Pepper was a character played by actress Dorothy Ann Seese in the four Five Little Peppers films of 1939 and 1940.

  • Usage of the baby name Phronsie (which debuted in the data the year most of the films came out).

Phroso
Phroso was a character played by actress Malvina Longfellow in the film Possession (1922).

Phyl
Phyl was a character played by actress Margaret Perry in the film New Morals for Old (1932).

Phyliss
Phyliss was a character name in multiple films, including Broadway Billy (1926) and Pleasures of the Rich (1926).

Phyllis
Phyllis Gordon was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1940s. She was born in Virginia in 1889. Phyllis Haver was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1930s. She was born in Kansas in 1899. Phyllis Thaxter was an actress who appeared in films from the 1940s to the 1970s. She was born in Maine in 1919. Finally, Phyllis was also a character name in multiple films, including Just Like a Woman (short, 1915) and Wagons Westward (1940).

Phyra
Phyra was a character played by actress Enid Markey in the short film The Soul of Phyra (1915).

Pidetta
Pidetta was a character played by actress Rosita Marstini in the short film On the Trail of the Tigress (1916).

Pidgie
Pidgie Ryder was a character played by actress Leatrice Joy in the film The Invisible Divorce (1920).

Pierrette
Pierrette was a character name in multiple films, including Under the Make-Up (1913) and Laughter and Tears (1921).

Pige
Pige was a character played by actress Marcia Mae Jones in the film Barefoot Boy (1938).

Pina
Pina Menichelli was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1920s. She was born in Italy in 1890. Her birth name was Giuseppa Iolanda Menichelli.

  • Usage of the baby name Pina.

Pinkie
Pinkie was a character name in multiple films, including The Reward (short, 1915) and Oh, Yeah? (1929).

  • Usage of the baby name Pinkie.

Pinky
Pinky was a character name in multiple films, including The Village Sleuth (1920) and Pinky (1949).

  • Usage of the baby name Pinky.

Pinna
Pinna Nesbit was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1920s. She was born in Canada in 1896.

Piquette
Piquette was a character played by actress Shannon Day in the film Honor First (1922).

Plutina
Plutina was a character played by actress Clara Kimball Young in the film The Heart of the Blue Ridge (1915).

Pola
Pola Negri was an actress who appeared in films from the 1910s to the 1960s. She was born in Poland in 1897. Her birth name was Barbara Apolonia Chałupec. Pola was also a character played by actress Elizabeth Allan in the film Insult (1932).

  • Usage of the baby name Pola.

Polaire
Polaire Quinn was a character played by actress Madge Evans in the film The Greeks Had a Word for Them (1932).

Poldi
Poldi Vogelhuber was a character played by actress Luise Rainer in the film The Great Waltz (1938).

Poll
Poll Patchouli was a character played by actress Dorothy Dalton in the film Fool’s Paradise (1921).

Polly
Polly was a character name in multiple films, including Outlaws of the Sea (1923) and Shanghai Lady (1929).

  • Usage of the baby name Polly.

Pompeia
Pompeia Plotina was a character played by actress Caroline Frances Cooke in the short film In the Days of Trajan (1913).

Pompilia
Pompilia was a character played by actress Marie Newton in the short film The Ring and the Book (1914).

Pomposia
Pomposia was a character played by actress Helen Ware in the film The Warrior’s Husband (1933).

Poppaea
Poppaea was a character name in multiple films, including Nero (1922) and The Sign of the Cross (1932).

Portland
Portland Fancy was a character played by actress Juliet Brenon in the film The Street of Forgotten Men (1925). (Plus there’s radio actress Portland Hoffa was most active during the ’30s and ’40s.)

Posey
Posey was a character played by actress Edith Arnold in the film College Scandal (1935).

  • Usage of the baby name Posey.

Posie
Posie Stanton was a character played by actress Virginia Southern in the film Black Friday (1916).

  • Usage of the baby name Posie.

Poupée
Poupée Andriot was an actress who appeared in films in the 1920s and 1930s. She was born in New York in 1899. Her birth name was Edna Stone. Poupée is French for “doll.”

Preciosa
Preciosa was a character played by actress Alice Joyce in the short film Between Father and Son (1911).

Prissy
Prissy was a character name in multiple films, including The Dangerous Flirt (1924) and Gone with the Wind (1939).

  • Usage of the baby name Prissy.

Protea
Protéa was a character played by French actress Josette Andriot in multiple films in the 1910s.

Prue
Prue was a character name in multiple films, including Only Five Years Old (short, 1913) and The Man Who Had Everything (1920).

  • Usage of the baby name Prue.

Prunella
Prunella Judson was a character played by actress ZaSu Pitts in the film Ruggles of Red Gap (1935).

Psyche
Psyche was a character played by actress Lillian Yarbo in the film My Brother Talks to Horses (1947).

Puff
Puff Rogers was a character played by actress Wynne Gibson in the film Lady and Gent (1932).

Pundita
Pundita was a character played by actress Goldie Colwell in multiple films in the 1910s.

*

…Which of the above names do you like best?

Source: IMDb

The Introduction of Tisa

my girl Tisa, movie, 1940s, baby nameThe cute name Tisa first appeared in the U.S. Social Security Administration’s baby name dataset in the late ’40s:

  • 1951: 6 baby girls named Tisa
  • 1950: 5 baby girls named Tisa
  • 1949: 11 baby girls named Tisa
  • 1948: 15 baby girls named Tisa [debut]
  • 1947: unlisted

What gave the name a boost that year?

The long-forgotten movie My Girl Tisa, which was set in New York City in the early 1900s. It followed a Hungarian immigrant named Tisa Kepes (played by Lilli Palmer, herself a German immigrant) whose aim was to earn enough money to bring her father to the United States.

Leonard Maltin called the film “sincere but uninspiring.”

So is Tisa a legitimate Hungarian name? Good question. It doesn’t seem to be a traditional female name, but there’s a well-known river that runs through Hungary called the Tisza. So perhaps this one is a modern creation along the lines of the Irish name Shannon (inspired by the River Shannon).

The name Tisa saw its highest usage (and even popped into the top 1,000 for a year) in 1970, when Theresa Magdalena “Tisa” Farrow — sister of newly famous Mia Farrow — decided to try acting and appeared in her first film, the low-budget counter-culture drama Homer (1970).

Source: My Girl Tisa (1948) – TCM

Popular Girl Names: Biblical vs. Non-Biblical

The ratio of Biblical names to non-Biblical names in the girl’s top 20 is about the same today as it was 100 years ago, though the ratio did change a bit mid-century.

(In contrast, there’s been a steady increase in the number of Biblical-origin names among the top boy names.)

Here’s the color-coded table — Biblical names are in the yellow cells, non-Biblical names are in the green cells, and several borderline names (which I counted as non-Biblical) are in the orange cells:

Popular girl names: Biblical vs. non-Biblical, from Nancy's Baby Names.
Popular girl names over time: Biblical (yellow) vs. non-Biblical. Click to enlarge.
  • Biblical names: Abigail, Anna, Betty (via Elizabeth), Chloe, Danielle, Deborah, Debra, Elizabeth, Hannah, Isabella (via Elizabeth), Janet, Jean, Joan, Judith, Judy, Julie, Lillian (via Elizabeth), Lisa (via Elizabeth), Lois, Marie, Marilyn, Mary, Mia (via Maria), Michelle, Nancy (via Anne), Rachel, Rebecca, Ruth, Sandra (via Alexander), Sarah, Sharon, Stephanie, Susan, Tammy (via Tamar/Tamara)
  • Non-Biblical names: Alexis, Alice, Alyssa, Amanda, Amber, Amelia, Amy, Angela, Ashley, Aubrey, Avery, Barbara, Brenda, Brianna, Brittany, Carol, Carolyn, Catherine, Charlotte, Christina, Christine, Crystal, Cynthia, Diane, Donna, Doris, Dorothy, Edna, Ella, Emily, Emma, Evelyn, Florence, Frances, Gladys, Grace, Harper, Heather, Helen, Irene, Jennifer, Joyce, Karen, Kathleen, Kayla, Kelly, Kimberly, Laura, Lauren, Linda, Lori, Louise, Madison, Margaret, Marjorie, Megan, Melissa, Mildred, Natalie, Nicole, Olivia, Pamela, Patricia, Rose, Shannon, Shirley, Sofia, Sophia, Taylor, Tiffany, Victoria, Virginia
  • Borderline names:
    • Ava (could be based on the Germanic root avi or the Biblical name Eve)
    • Jessica (literary invention, but Shakespeare may have based it on the Biblical name Iscah)
    • Samantha (possibly inspired by the Biblical name Samuel)

Again, feels pretty weird to put overtly Christian names like Christina and Christine in the non-Biblical category, but oh well.

Here are the year-by-year tallies:

Year Top 20 names
given to…		 # Biblical # Non-Biblical
1914 31% of baby girls 6 (30%) 14 (70%)
1924 31% of baby girls 7 (35%) 13 (65%)
1934 32% of baby girls 9 (45%) 11 (55%)
1944 35% of baby girls 8 (40%) 12 (60%)
1954 34% of baby girls 9 (45%) 11 (55%)
1964 24% of baby girls 9 (45%) 11 (55%)
1974 24% of baby girls 8 (40%) 12 (60%)
1984 26% of baby girls 6 (30%) 14 (70%)
1994 19% of baby girls 6 (30%) 14 (70%)
2004 14% of baby girls 6 (30%) 14 (70%)
2014 12% of baby girls 5 (25%) 15 (75%)

Just like with the boy names, though, there’s a big difference between the 1914 and 2014 sample sizes — 31% and 12%. So let’s also look at the 2014 top 100, which covers 31% of female births.

By my count, last year’s top 100 girl names were about a quarter Biblical, three-quarters non-Biblical:

Biblical names (27) Non-Biblical/Borderline names (73)
Isabella (via Elizabeth), Mia (via Maria), Abigail, Elizabeth, Chloe, Addison (via Adam), Lillian (via Elizabeth), Hannah, Anna, Leah, Gabriella, Sadie (via Sarah), Sarah, Annabelle, Madelyn (via Magdalene), Lucy (via Lucius), Alexa (via Alexander), Genesis, Naomi, Eva, Lydia, Julia, Khloe, Madeline (via Magdalene), Alexandra, Gianna (via Joanna), Isabelle (via Elizabeth) Emma, Olivia, Sophia, Ava, Emily, Madison, Charlotte, Harper, Sofia, Avery, Amelia, Evelyn, Ella, Victoria, Aubrey, Grace, Zoey, Natalie, Brooklyn, Lily, Layla, Scarlett, Aria, Zoe, Samantha, Audrey, Ariana, Allison, Savannah, Arianna, Camila, Penelope, Claire, Aaliyah, Riley, Skylar, Nora, Hailey, Kaylee, Paisley, Kennedy, Ellie, Peyton, Caroline, Serenity, Aubree, Alexis, Nevaeh, Stella, Violet, Mackenzie, Bella, Autumn, Mila, Kylie, Maya, Piper, Alyssa, Taylor, Eleanor, Melanie, Faith, Katherine, Brianna, Ashley, Ruby, Sophie, London, Lauren, Alice, Vivian, Hadley, Jasmine

Faith, Grace, Angela, Nevaeh, Natalie…all technically non-Biblical.

27%-73% is remarkably similar to both 25%-75% (smaller 2014 sample) and 30%-70% (1914 sample).

So here’s the question of the day: If you had to choose all of your children’s names from either one group or the other — Biblical names or non-Biblical names — which group would you stick to, and why?

Interesting Baby Name Analysis

I only recently noticed that Behind the Name, one of my favorite websites for baby name definitions, has a page called United States Popularity Analysis — a “computer-created analysis of the United States top 1000 names for the period 1880 to 2012.”

The page has some interesting top ten lists. Here are three of them:

Most Volatile

Boy Names Girl Names
1. Elvis
2. Brooks
3. Santiago
4. Lincoln
5. Ernie
6. Wyatt
7. Quincy
8. Rogers
9. Alec
10. Dexter 		1. Juliet
2. Lea
3. Justine
4. Martina
5. Felicia
6. Delilah
7. Selina
8. Lonnie
9. Magdalena
10. Katy

Biggest Recoveries

Boy Names Girl Names
1. Silas
2. Isaiah
3. Caleb
4. Emmett
5. Jordan
6. Josiah
7. Harrison
8. Ezra
9. Jason
10. Jesus 		1. Ella
2. Stella
3. Sadie
4. Sophie
5. Isabella
6. Lily
7. Hannah
8. Isabelle
9. Sophia
10. Lilly

Biggest Flash-in-the-Pans

Boy Names Girl Names
1. Dewey
2. Woodrow
3. Dale
4. Barry
5. Rick
6. Greg
7. Roosevelt
8. Shannon
9. Kim
10. Darrin 		1. Debra
2. Lori
3. Tammy
4. Pamela
5. Tracy
6. Cheryl
7. Beverly
8. Dawn
9. Diane
10. Kathy

I wonder what the formulas were. I’d love to try the same analysis on the SSA’s full list, using raw numbers instead of rankings. Wonder how much overlap there’d be…

Popular Baby Names in Northern Ireland, 2013

Northern Ireland’s top baby names of 2013 were announced today.

According to provisional data from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), the most popular baby names are Grace (and Emily, see below!) and Jack.

Here are Northern Ireland’s projected top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2013:

Girl Names Boy Names
1. Grace
2. Emily
3. Sophie
4. Ella
5. Lucy
6. Sophia
7. Aoife
8. Jessica
9. Amelia
10. Anna 		1. Jack
2. James
3. Charlie
4. Daniel
5. Harry
6. Noah
7. Ethan
8. Matthew
9. Jacob
10. Thomas

Within the top 20, the fastest risers were Ella and Luke. New to the top 20 were Ava and Ruby.

Within the top 100, the fastest risers were Elsie and Robyn for girls, Jackson and Theo for boys. The biggest drops were Shannon and Elizabeth for girls, Corey and Reece for boys.

Some of the unusual names given to Northern Ireland babies in 2013 include Boleyn, Cadhla-lilly, Chulainn, Colmcille, Finvola, Geiste, Gillespie, Jimia, Kidd, Lucymollymay, Macushla, Martin-luther, Nittelani, Ollie-j, Oraoibhe, Phoebegail (Phoebe + Abigail? A smoosh I’ve never seen before!), Poppy-chelle, Saorfhlaith, Svajone (Lithuanian for “dream”), Testimony and Zefrito.

Northern Ireland’s finalized 2013 list will be out next summer, so I’ll come back and update this post at that point (if it needs updating). In the meanwhile, check out the 2012, 2007 and 2006 lists.

Source: Jack and Grace First Place

UPDATE, 8/2014: Here are the finalized rankings. Check out that tie for #1!

Girl Names Boy Names
1. Emily, 203 baby girls (tie)
2. Grace, 203 (tie)
3. Sophie, 194
4. Ella, 189
5. Sophia, 174
6. Lucy, 171
7. Aoife, 163
8. Amelia, 159
9. Anna, 158 (tie)
10. Jessica, 158 (tie) 		1. Jack, 293 baby boys
2. James, 285
3. Charlie, 119
4. Harry, 207
5. Daniel, 201
6. Noah, 188
7. Matthew, 164
8. Ethan, 160 (tie)
9. Jacob, 160 (tie)
10. Oliver, 150

A quote from the bulletin: “None of the top 10 most popular girls’ names in 2013 were in the top 10 in 2003.” That alone is fascinating.

Here are the top names of 2013 broken down by the age of the baby’s mother:

Mother’s Age Top Girl Name Top Boy Name
<20 Amelia Riley
20-29 Sophie Jack
30-39 Anne James & Jack
40+ Grace James

For more of the top names, check out Northern Ireland’s 100 most popular baby names over at British Baby Names.

Source: Most Popular Baby Names 2013