Given name · also Hebrew
Shawna
“God is gracious”
Shawna is a variant of Shauna. In Irish use, Shauna carries the interpretation “God is gracious.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Shawna is a variant of Shauna. In Irish use, Shauna carries the interpretation “God is gracious.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Shawna is a form of Shauna. Shauna comes from Irish, and ultimately from Hebrew.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1941. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Shawna through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 45,640
- 109 boys · 45,531 girls
- Most popular year
- 1977
- 2,090 babies
- 2025
- 9
- #10,789 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −45%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 9 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 10,789 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 44.5% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 2,082 in 1977. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 39,653 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Shawna’s family of names
In English usage, Shawna shares an earlier linguistic root with Jean. Shawna has a related form in Shauna. In English usage, Shawna shares an earlier linguistic root with Janice.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 21
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Shawna
- Shawna WaldronAmerican actressborn 1982
- Shawna KimbrellAmerican fighter pilotborn 1976
- Shawna Pendrysportspersonborn 2002
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Shawna, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Shavaughn
“God is gracious” · “one who is openminded”
6% boys · 94% girls
Janna
“God is gracious”
>99% girls
Susannah
“resembling a graceful white lily”
>99% girls
Rina
“one who sings a joyous song”
>99% girls
Alona
“one who is as strong as an oak”
>99% girls
Kiva
“protected by God”
5% boys · 95% girls
Rani
“a lovely singer; a queenly woman”
14% boys · 86% girls
Brianne
“from the high hill; one who ascends”
>99% girls