Shannell
A feminine given name of uncertain origin, likely a blend of Shannon and Nell.
Name Census estimates that about 471 living Americans carry the first name Shannell. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shannell today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shannell births was 1987 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shannell. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Shannell with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
471
~ 1 in 727,716 Americans
Peak year
1987
29 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2021 SSA rank
#17,309
Tracked since 1970
Census
Shannell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 464 people with the first name Shannell, which placed it at #21,757 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#21,757
National first-name rank
People counted
464
464 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
65.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shannell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shannell is Black at 65.3%. The next largest groups are White (14.7%) and Hispanic (11.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Shannell described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Shannell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American65.3% · 303
- White14.7% · 68
- Hispanic or Latino11.9% · 55
- Two or more races4.7% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 6
Popularity
Shannell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shannell from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 186 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shannell by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Shannell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shannells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, New York, Illinois recorded the most babies named Shannell, while Illinois, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 6 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shannell
The name Shannell has its origins in the Irish Gaelic language, and it is believed to have first emerged in the medieval period. The name is a feminine form of the masculine name Shannon, which is derived from the Irish word "Sionna," meaning "old" or "wise."
Shannell is closely associated with the River Shannon, the longest river in Ireland, which runs through the heart of the country. It is possible that the name was initially given to individuals who lived near or were associated with this iconic waterway.
In ancient Irish mythology, there are references to a figure named Sionna, who was revered for her wisdom and knowledge. Some scholars suggest that the name Shannell may have been inspired by this mythological character, further emphasizing its connection to wisdom and age.
The earliest recorded use of the name Shannell can be traced back to the 16th century in Ireland. One notable figure from this period was Shannell O'Malley, a renowned Irish chieftain's daughter, who was celebrated for her bravery and leadership during the tumultuous times of the Irish Confederate Wars in the 1640s.
In the 17th century, a woman named Shannell Byrne gained notoriety in County Wicklow, Ireland, for her role in sheltering and protecting Irish rebels during the Williamite War. Her acts of courage and defiance against the English forces earned her a place in local folklore.
Moving into the 19th century, Shannell Fitzgerald (1826-1891) was an Irish-American philanthropist and social activist who dedicated her life to improving the lives of immigrants and the underprivileged in New York City.
Another notable figure was Shannell McQueen (1878-1952), a Scottish artist renowned for her landscape paintings that captured the rugged beauty of the Scottish Highlands.
In the 20th century, Shannell O'Connor (1916-1995) was an influential Irish-American writer and journalist who brought attention to the struggles and experiences of Irish immigrants in the United States through her poignant literary works.
While the name Shannell has its roots in Irish culture, it has since gained popularity and recognition in various parts of the world, with individuals bearing this name making significant contributions in various fields throughout history.
People
Shannell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shannell as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Shannell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shannell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 471 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shannell going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 727,716 US residents.
Is Shannell a common name?
We classify Shannell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 498 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shannell most popular?
The single biggest year for Shannell was 1987, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shannell is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shannell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 464 people with the name Shannell, or 0.15 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,757 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Shannell in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Shannell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shannell appears almost entirely female. Of the 470 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Shannell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shannell is Black at 65.3%. The next largest groups are White (14.7%) and Hispanic (11.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Shannell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Shannell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.3% (303 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Shannell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shannell a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shannell in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Shannell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shannell in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Shannell can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Shannell?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Shannell at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.