Boys' name · peaked in 1978
Shaun name popularity since 1925
73,610 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Shaun (4.3% girls, 95.7% boys). Half of them were born in 1982 or earlier, so the typical Shaun is about 44 years old in 2026. Shaun peaked in 1978 as the #52 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 73,610
- Named Shaun, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,956 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 95.7% boys
- 3,129 girls · 70,481 boys
- Most popular in
- Hawaii
- 2.38× its national share
Peak year is the year Shaun made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Shaun births per year, 1925–2025
1978 was the biggest year for Shaun both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1973 and 1978, Shaun became 7.7× more common, from 1 in 2,080 baby boys to 1 in 269.
- Steepest fall: Between 1978 and 1983, its share of baby boys fell by 63%, from 1 in 269 to 1 in 727.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Shaun's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Shaun.
Decade by decade
Babies named Shaun in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 63 | #2,914 |
| 1940s | 25 | 230 | #1,844 |
| 1950s | 416 | 1,239 | #677 |
| 1960s | 946 | 5,559 | #322 |
| 1970s | 801 | 19,317 | #275 |
| 1980s | 471 | 24,470 | #120 |
| 1990s | 269 | 8,621 | #347 |
| 2000s | 137 | 7,010 | #397 |
| 2010s | 49 | 3,219 | #768 |
| 2020–25 | 15 | 753 | #1,956 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
38.4% of babies named Shaun from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen X years (1965–1980). The full split by generation:
Where Shaun is most popular
The index compares Shaun's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Shaun.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 2.38× | 517 |
| Utah | 2.17× | 1,282 |
| Idaho | 1.65× | 456 |
| Massachusetts | 1.64× | 2,713 |
| New Hampshire | 1.41× | 308 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Shaun's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Shaun.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Shaun (1978).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data