Shannon

S1H4A1N1N1O1N1
/ˈʃænən/

proper noun

The longest river in the British Isles, which flows through Ireland into the Atlantic Ocean.

CommonScrabble 10

Meanings

proper nounShannon (plural Shannons)

plural Shannons

  1. The longest river in the British Isles, which flows through Ireland into the Atlantic Ocean.
  2. A town in County Clare, Ireland, at the mouth of that river, and its nearby international airport.
  3. A sea area, to the west of Ireland, centred on the estuary of this river.
  4. A locality in Central Highlands Council, central Tasmania, Australia.
  5. A surname from Irish of Irish origin, variant of Shanahan, anglicised from Ó Seanaigh (“descendant of a person named Old”).
  6. A unisex given name transferred from the surname or place name (from the river); first used in the USA in early 20th century, and only recently in Ireland.

    Shannon Downey goes for the unfinished stitching projects.

    2019 October 25, Konstantin Toropin, “A woman found an unfinished, 20-year-old quilt and complete strangers are helping piece it together”, in CNN, archived from the original on 29 Oct 2019
    3 more examples

    Captain Samuel Shannon is frequently mentioned in the public records, and he had something more than a local reputation. He must have been very popular, as the name "Shannon" as a Christian name is so common throughout the valley as to be noticeable.

    1896, Report of the Commission to Locate the Site of the Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania, C.M.Busch, state printer, page 283

    Everything in my life is okay except I have this terrible problem with my sister Shannon. I'm spelling her name the way most people would. She spells it Sionna ever since the priest told us that's the real Irish way to spell it. It's the name of a river and a goddess. Shanny doesn't think she's a river. She's really Shannon Marie.

    2005, Andrew M. Greeley, Mary G. Durkin, The Book of Love, Macmillan, →ISBN, pages 193–194

    The law was jointly authored by state Sens. Dave Cortese, a San Jose Democrat, and Shannon Grove, a Bakersfield Republican.

    2026 September 16, Cecelio Padilla, “California's "Leno's Law" signed, expanding classic car smog exemptions”, in CBS News, archived from the original on 18 Sep 2026

Origin

  1. IrishSionainn
  2. IrishSionainn
  3. EnglishShannon

Borrowed from Irish Sionainn.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 香農河 /香农河
  • 香農河 /香农河 (Xiāngnóng Hé)river
Irish An tSionainn
  • An tSionainnriver
Russian Ше́ннон
  • Ше́ннон (Šénnon)river

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with Shannon

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

Shannon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Shannon

MLA

“Shannon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Shannon. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Shannon,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Shannon.

Source: Shannon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.