How Many People Are Named Shawn?
An estimated 313,831 people in the United States have the first name Shawn. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #154 overall. It is predominantly male (90.3%). The average bearer is 45 years old, and Shawn peaked in popularity in 1971 with 14,688 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Shawn as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Shawn paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- Shawn has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1970s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
313,831
About 1 in 1,092 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Male
90.3% confidence
Average Age
45
years old
Peak Year
1971
14,688 births
Total Registered
339,174
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Shawn
Shawn is predominantly male (90.3%), though 33,040 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Shawn as a male name
Ranked #638 in 2024
438 male births in 2024
Peak: 1971 (12,825 births)
Shawn as a female name
Ranked #7,513 in 2024
15 female births in 2024
Peak: 1970 (1,971 births)
Shawn: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Shawn span from the 1930s to the 2020s, covering 10 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1970s, when 117,156 babies were registered. Shawn has declined significantly from its peak in the 1970s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Shawn by Decade
How has Shawn tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Shawn by State
Birth registrations for Shawn span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Pennsylvania, New York. The lowest are in Wyoming, Alaska, Vermont. On average, about 6,573 Shawns were registered per state.
Shawn + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Shawn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Shawn
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
Shawn: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shawn?
We estimate approximately 313,831 people named Shawn are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 1,092 Americans share this first name.
Is Shawn a common name?
Shawn is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 339,174 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Shawn most popular?
Shawn reached peak popularity in 1971, when 14,688 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Shawn is approximately 45 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Shawn a male name?
Shawn is predominantly male. 90.3% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Shawn Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Shawn Smith, Shawn Johnson, Shawn Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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