Shannon, a rare name, was the 1,478th most popular girl's name in the United States in 2018. Shannon, a former top 1000 name, is now less common. It achieved its maximum popularity position of #17 in 1976. Shannon entered the list in 1969 and reached its peak position in 1976. Since then, it has been declining in usage. Shannon is derived from a female given name Shauna. It was originally used as an English unisex given name until 1969 when it was assigned to the female figure Shannen Douglas. She became very famous after appearing in several movies including The Outsiders (1983) and Teen Wolf (1985). Now, Shannon is used as a first name for girls and boys. It's especially popular among people with Irish ancestry (269 people with this name in America in 2016). However, it is also used by people of other ethnic backgrounds (including Asian), possibly people with Irish roots who use it as a first name. After appearing on the list in 1969, the name Shannon started losing popularity and was ranked as the 1784th most popular name for girls in 2018.