Molly Shannon
There are approximately 24 people named Molly Shannon living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 14,281,431 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Molly with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Shannon. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
24
1 in 14,281,431
Named Molly
155K
Alive today
Named Shannon
54K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 155K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1991
Average age: 32
Estimated bearers: 54K
Rarity: Uncommon
Census rank: #752
Per 100K: 15.64
Top ancestry: White (75.2%)
First name trend
Molly: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Molly. The peak year was 1991 with 4,663 births. The average person named Molly today is 32 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Shannon surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Shannon, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 75.2%.
- White75.2%
- Black or African American19.5%
- Hispanic or Latino2.4%
- Two or more races2.0%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Molly has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0452% of the US population, based on 154,836 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Shannon appears at a rate of 15.64 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0156%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 24 people with the full name Molly Shannon. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Molly
FAQ
Molly Shannon: questions and answers
How many people are named Molly Shannon?
We estimate approximately 24 people in the United States share the full name Molly Shannon. That works out to about 1 in 14,281,431 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0452%) with the surname frequency (15.64 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Molly Shannon?
We classify Molly Shannon as "Very Rare". About 1 in 14,281,431 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Molly a male or female name?
Molly is predominantly female. Out of 174,877 total SSA registrations, 0.2% were male and 99.8% were female. See the full Molly profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.