Shane

Where Shane comes from

Anglicized form of the Northern Irish pronunciation of Irish Seán, from Old French Jehan, from Latin Johannes, variant of Ioannes, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yōḥānān, literally “God is gracious”). Doublet of John, Jack, Johan, Johann, Johannes, Jean, Ian, Evan, Ivan, Sean, Shaun, and Giovanni as a male name. Doublet of Ivana, Jana, Jane, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena as a female name.
— Wiktionary's entry for Shane
  • Irish
  • 1 syllable
  • Vowel-ended
Shane through the years
  1. 1933
    First appearance
    #3,268 among boys with 6 babies, the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1953
    Around this time: Shane
    Film, 1953 · Source
  3. 1973
    Peak, #54
    5,710 babies named Shane, the most in any year.
  4. 1987
    Shane Long born
    Irish association football player
  5. 1988
    Shane Dawson born
    American Internet personality
  6. 2003
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births, down to #144.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from Irish.
  • A female given name from Irish.
Namesakes
  • Shane Long · Irish association football player, born 1987
  • Shane Dawson · American Internet personality, born 1988
  • Shane Warne · Australian cricketer, 1969–2022
  • Shane Black · American actor, screenwriter and film director, born 1961
  • Shane West · American actor, musician and songwriter, born 1978

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record. Events show what happened around then, not why parents chose the name.