Shona

femaleScottish Gaelic, via Joanna/Joan

A Scottish feminine name that is an Anglicised form of Seonag or Seonaid — both part of the Scottish Gaelic Joanna/Joan name family, traditionally 'God is gracious'.

Origin: Scottish Gaelic, via Joanna/Joan

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1954 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #63 in New Zealand in 1959. See regions.

Shona: Recorded since 1954, it reached #63 in 1959, and it stood at #718 in 2025.

4registrars recorded it
116times a registrar ranked it
72years from first to last
#63highest recorded position
22groupings it qualifies for

Compare Shona Run Name Checker on Shona

Data Confidence

Evidence: ModerateCompleteness: SubstantialEditorial review: 2026-07-21

Confidence in the evidencebehind this name's data — never a rating of the name itself, and never affected by how well it matches your preferences. How this is assessed

Because: backed by officially or academically authoritative sources, recently verified, several expected sections are missing, popularity data covers multiple regions.

Source authority

Averaged from the real per-claim source-authority assessments already computed for this name's meaning/origin/pronunciation/popularity evidence.

Independent corroboration

Averaged from the real per-claim supporting-source counts already computed for this name's evidence.

See full evidence assessment (8 dimensions, 1 not yet tracked)

Source agreement

No recorded source disagreement for this name's meanings or origins.

Recency

Calculated from how long ago this record was last verified (2026-07-21), against a 270-day staleness threshold.

Geographic relevance

Calculated from the number of geographies with official popularity data (4) — broader official coverage means the evidence base is relevant to more of where the name is actually used.

Completeness

Calculated from how many of the expected data sections (variants, similar names, popularity, notable usage, IPA pronunciation) are actually populated for this name.

Direct observation vs. inference

Averaged from the real per-claim direct-observation-vs-inference ratios already computed for this name's evidence.

Identity & variant resolution quality

Cross-source identity and variant resolution requires HEKNO Knowledge, which isn't connected yet.

Name Characteristics

How these are calculated

Descriptive attributes of the name itself — not a confidence measurement, and not an overall quality score. Namewise doesn't approve or disapprove of names.

Pronunciation clarity

Not yet assessed — Namewise hasn't recorded a pronunciation (respelling or IPA) for this name yet.

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling: shorter names with fewer irregular letter clusters score higher. A disclosed formula, not an editorial opinion — and not a confidence measurement.

Recorded regional spread

Derived from how many geographies' official statistics record this name. It measures where the name is registered, not how well-known it feels to people living there.

International spread

Derived from the same official statistical coverage, scaled to reflect how widely the name crosses national datasets. Not a measure of how easily it is understood in another language.

Trend stability

Derived from the name's traditional/modern classification and its current popularity trend direction.

Overview

Origin: Scottish Gaelic, via Joanna/Joan
Meaning: A Scottish feminine name that is an Anglicised form of Seonag or Seonaid — both part of the Scottish Gaelic Joanna/Joan name family, traditionally 'God is gracious'.
Pronunciation: Not available
Syllables: 2
Common nicknames: None recorded
Classification: Traditional & modern
Gender usage: female
Language family: Scottish Gaelic, via Joanna/Joan

Popularity

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2025

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#241
1997	#211
1998	#230
1999	#273
2000	#275
2001	#303
2002	#445
2003	#532
2004	#528
2005	#553
2006	#717
2007	#727
2008	#845
2009	#821
2010	#1332
2011	#1067
2012	#1893
2013	#1707
2014	#1702
2015	#2496
2016	#2367
2017	#2925
2018	#3518
2019	#3151
2020	#3447
2023	#4709
2024	#4192
2025	#5927

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Republic of Ireland in 56 of the 57 years from 1969 to 2025.

In 2025: #718 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #5927 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 4 national registrars across 4 regions, 1954–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1954
First recorded at #79 among girls in New Zealand in 1954 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
New Zealand · Girls
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #5927 among girls in England and Wales, in 2025.
England and Wales · Girls

Shona appears in 4 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, with 56 ranked years and 1,075 births registered; the earliest is New Zealand · Girls, from 1954.

Shona across 4 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Shona's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#393 (1969)	#112 (1991)	#718 (2025)	56 of 57	1,075 (1969–2025)	53 (1991)
England and Wales · Girls	#241 (1996)	#211 (1997)	#5927 (2025)	28 of 30	1,529 (1996–2025)	200 (1997)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#161 (1997)	#151 (2000)	#424 (2019)	18 of 23	132 (1997–2019)	12 (1997)
New Zealand · Girls	#79 (1954)	#63 (1959)	#100 (1974)	14 of 21	1,210 (1954–1974)	112 (1961)

Shona by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Shona in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960s	4	1 of 10	4
1970s	86	9 of 10	10
1980s	196	10 of 10	20
1990sbusiest	346	10 of 10	35
2000s	272	10 of 10	27
2010s	138	10 of 10	14
2020s	33	6 of 10	6

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 1990s were its busiest decade, averaging 35 births a year.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Shona appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

What the record shows

Recorded by 4 registrars between 1954 and 2025, ranked in 69 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #63, first reached in 1959.

It held a top-100 place in 14 years, 12 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 200 births, registered in England and Wales in 1997.

Its record falls into 4 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 1 year.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1969, and 43 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Shona was ranked #63 in New Zealand · Girls in 1959. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Shola · #408, 25y
Sholom · #2174, 15y
Shonagh · #235, 32y
Shoshana · #1472, 30y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 4 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Carina · #60, 68y
Gerald · #57, 64y
Magdalena · #71, 65y
Pawel · #54, 65y

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1950 and 1959.

Anja · #63, 70y
Bryan · #64, 72y
Joy · #62, 68y
Norman · #62, 63y

Shona and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,577 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Shona without appearing here.

Shona moved ahead of

Kirsten
In 2023 they stood at #4709 and #4056 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2024 that had become #4192 and #5891.
Tyler
In 2018 they stood at #3518 and #3518 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2019 that had become #3151 and #4001.
Siobhán
In 2017 they stood at #430 and #396 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2018 that had become #436 and #896.
Barbara
In 2020 they stood at #700 and #495 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2021 that had become #586 and #883.

Moved ahead of Shona

Karen
In 2024 they stood at #4192 and #4843 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2025 that had become #5927 and #2440.
Jesse
In 2024 they stood at #4192 and #4843 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2025 that had become #5927 and #2788.
Janice
In 2022 they stood at #3447 and #4535 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2023 that had become #4709 and #1959.
Cameron
In 2024 they stood at #4192 and #4843 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2025 that had become #5927 and #3333.

Moved the opposite way to Shona

Abigail
Between 1969 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Shona went from #393 to #718 while Abigail went from #303 to #115.
Alexandra
Between 1969 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Shona went from #393 to #718 while Alexandra went from #303 to #141.
Amy
Between 1969 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Shona went from #393 to #718 while Amy went from #322 to #138.
Clodagh
Between 1969 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Shona went from #393 to #718 while Clodagh went from #116 to #47.

Moved the same way as Shona

Audrey
Between 1969 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Shona went from #393 to #718 and Audrey from #53 to #885.
Eileen
Between 1969 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Shona went from #393 to #718 and Eileen from #26 to #443.
Elaine
Between 1969 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Shona went from #393 to #718 and Elaine from #23 to #608.
Julia
Between 1969 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Shona went from #393 to #718 and Julia from #68 to #118.

Meaning & Origin

A Scottish feminine name that is an Anglicised form of Seonag or Seonaid — both part of the Scottish Gaelic Joanna/Joan name family, traditionally 'God is gracious'.

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Scottish Gaelic, via Joanna/Joan

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Other names with a researched meaning and origin →

Where Shona is officially recorded

4 official registrars have recorded Shona, between 1954 and 2025, in 69 of those 72 years. Each registrar publishes for its own population on its own methodology, so the positions below are each one country's own ranking and are not comparable with one another.

Registrar	Recorded	Years	Its own highest position
New Zealand	1954–1974	14	#63 in 1959
Republic of Ireland	1969–2025	56	#112 in 1991
England and Wales	1996–2025	28	#211 in 1997
Northern Ireland	1997–2019	18	#151 in 2000

Its high point came 41 years earlier in New Zealand (1959) than in Northern Ireland (2000).

Variants

No spelling variants or nicknames recorded yet.

Similar Names

No similar names recorded yet for this name.

Similarity is a demonstration score — see methodology.

Spelling

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling — see Name Characteristics above.

No commonly used alternate spellings recorded.

Pronunciation

No pronunciation recorded yet.

Syllables: 2
Ease: easy

Not yet availableSource: HEKNO Name Intelligence.Confidence: insufficient.

Where Shona Is Recorded

National statistical agencies have recorded Shona in these places. This shows where the name is used — not where it comes from, and not that it carries particular cultural significance there.

England and WalesNorthern IrelandRepublic of IrelandNew Zealand

Notable Usage

No safely-sourced notable usage recorded for this name yet.

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

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Shona

Shona at a glance

Overview

Popularity

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Shona across 4 official records

Shona by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Shona appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Shona

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Shona and the names beside it

Shona moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Shona

Moved the opposite way to Shona

Moved the same way as Shona

Meaning & Origin

Where Shona is officially recorded

Variants

Similar Names

Spelling

Pronunciation

Where Shona Is Recorded

Notable Usage

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

Shona at a glance

Shona across 4 official records

Shona by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Shona appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Shona

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Shona and the names beside it

Shona moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Shona

Moved the opposite way to Shona

Moved the same way as Shona