Shannah
Meaning of Shannah
Shannah is a feminine given name with roots in the Hebrew lexicon and an ensuing Anglo-American adaptation, most frequently understood as a variant of Hannah—originating from the Hebrew חַנָּה (ḥannāh, “favor; grace”)—while also exhibiting an ancillary semantic link to שָׁנָה (shanah, “year”). In its primary linguistic context it is enunciated shah-NAH (/ʃaˈna/), whereas in English usage it follows the phonological pattern SHAN-uh (/ʃænə/). Data drawn from U.S. Social Security records mark its first appearance in 1945 with six recorded instances at rank 613; the name then recurs intermittently through subsequent decades, attaining a plateau of 51 occurrences at rank 711 in 1978, before entering a gradual descent to seven occurrences at rank 956 by 2014. This temporal distribution reflects Shannah’s dual status as both a bearer of Hebrew etymological significance and a product of Anglo-American phonetic preferences, rendering it a technically grounded yet distinctive option within modern naming conventions.
Pronunciation
Hebrew
- Pronunced as shah-NAH (/ʃaˈna/)
English
- Pronunced as SHAN-uh (/ʃænə/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
