Shaun

Where Shaun comes from

A variant of Sean, from 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, Shawn, Shane, and Giovanni as a male name. Doublet of Ivana, Jana, Jane, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shane, Shauna, and Sheena as a female name.
— Wiktionary's entry for Shaun
  • Irish
  • 1 syllable
Shaun through the years
  1. 1935
    First appearance
    #2,719 among boys with 8 babies, the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1977
    Around this time: Shaun Cassidy
    Person, 1977 · Source
  3. 1978
    Peak, #52
    6,105 babies named Shaun, the most in any year.
  4. 1981
    Shaun Wright-Phillips born
    English association football player
  5. 1982
    Shaun Murphy born
    English snooker player
  6. 1983
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births, down to #111.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from Irish.
  • A female given name from Irish.
Namesakes
  • Shaun Wright-Phillips · English association football player, born 1981
  • Shaun Murphy · English snooker player, born 1982
  • Shaun Maloney · Scottish association football player and coach, born 1983
  • Shaun White · American snowboarder and skateboarder, born 1986
  • Shaun Toub · Iranian actor, born 1963

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.