Boys' name · peaked in 1973
Shawn name popularity since 1925
339,597 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Shawn (9.7% girls, 90.3% boys). Half of them were born in 1977 or earlier, so the typical Shawn is about 49 years old in 2026. Shawn peaked in 1973 as the #27 name for boys, and it ranked #682 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 339,597
- Named Shawn, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #682
- for boys in 2025 (399 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 90.3% boys
- 33,055 girls · 306,542 boys
- Most popular in
- Vermont
- 1.97× its national share
Peak year is the year Shawn 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.
Shawn births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1971. Measured as a share of all babies, Shawn peaked in 1973.
- Fastest rise: Between 1954 and 1959, Shawn became 4.4× more common, from 1 in 4,750 baby boys to 1 in 1,080.
- Steepest fall: Between 2018 and 2023, its share of baby boys fell by 43%, from 1 in 2,230 to 1 in 3,910.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Shawn's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Shawn.
Decade by decade
Babies named Shawn 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 | 24 | 40 | Under 5 |
| 1940s | 261 | 459 | #1,685 |
| 1950s | 3,996 | 6,460 | #312 |
| 1960s | 13,087 | 47,795 | #69 |
| 1970s | 11,362 | 105,790 | #31 |
| 1980s | 2,704 | 65,598 | #55 |
| 1990s | 1,063 | 42,483 | #100 |
| 2000s | 345 | 24,198 | #174 |
| 2010s | 146 | 10,673 | #352 |
| 2020–25 | 67 | 3,046 | #682 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000. "Under 5" means fewer than 5 boys got the name.
Generation fingerprint
48.8% of babies named Shawn from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen X years (1965–1980). The full split by generation:
Where Shawn is most popular
The index compares Shawn'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 Shawn.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Vermont | 1.97× | 1,117 |
| Montana | 1.96× | 1,944 |
| Maine | 1.90× | 2,757 |
| New Hampshire | 1.87× | 1,999 |
| Alaska | 1.83× | 923 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Shawn's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Shawn.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Shawn (1973).
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