Shona
- Gender
- Girl
- Origin
- Scottish
- UK rank, 2025
- #3,776 for girls
Shona is a girls' name of Scottish origin. In 2025 it ranked 3,776th for girls in the UK (6 babies).
What does Shona mean?
Scottish
A female given name from Scottish Gaelic.
From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Is Shona a girl's or a boy's name?
Shona is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 6 girls in the UK. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Shona in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 3,776th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 6 about 1 in 46,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Falling down 37% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 6 girls in the UK were named Shona, making it the 3,776th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 3,274th. Its busiest year was 1997, with 248 girls.
Half of all the girls named Shona in the UK since 1996 were born between 1998 and 2005. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
Among girls in 2025, it was 5,925th in England and Wales and 780th in Scotland.
Shona in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6 | #3,776 |
| 2024 | 5 | #4,253 |
| 2023 | 6 | #3,766 |
| 2022 | 2 | #7,391 |
| 2021 | 1 | #7,491 |
| 2020 | 7 | #3,274 |
| 2019 | 10 | #2,590 |
| 2018 | 10 | #2,631 |
| 2017 | 14 | #2,099 |
| 2016 | 11 | #2,510 |
| 2015 | 12 | #2,328 |
| 2014 | 18 | #1,722 |
| 2013 | 17 | #1,798 |
| 2012 | 25 | #1,384 |
| 2011 | 35 | #1,069 |
| 2010 | 30 | #1,167 |
| 2009 | 60 | #674 |
| 2008 | 51 | #750 |
| 2007 | 60 | #648 |
| 2006 | 60 | #615 |
| 2005 | 82 | #487 |
| 2004 | 85 | #459 |
| 2003 | 77 | #480 |
| 2002 | 92 | #402 |
| 2001 | 148 | #292 |
| 2000 | 171 | #263 |
| 1999 | 180 | #256 |
| 1998 | 228 | #212 |
| 1997 | 248 | #199 |
| 1996 | 205 | #219 |
How popular is Shona in the US?
No girls in the US were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 1970, with 160 girls. It first appears in the records in 1943.
Half of all the girls named Shona in the US since 1880 were born between 1969 and 1981, the years shaded on the chart below.
Shona in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 6 | #13,472 |
| 2023 | 0 | – |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 5 | #15,246 |
| 2020 | 0 | – |
| 2019 | 0 | – |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 0 | – |
| 2016 | 5 | #16,210 |
| 2015 | 7 | #13,001 |
| 2014 | 7 | #13,063 |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 11 | #9,706 |
| 2011 | 7 | #13,339 |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 10 | #10,675 |
| 2008 | 11 | #10,080 |
| 2007 | 7 | #13,918 |
| 2006 | 11 | #9,897 |
| 2005 | 14 | #7,886 |
| 2004 | 10 | #9,887 |
| 2003 | 7 | #12,401 |
| 2002 | 9 | #10,240 |
| 2001 | 12 | #8,189 |
| 2000 | 15 | #6,802 |
| 1999 | 13 | #7,233 |
| 1998 | 14 | #6,714 |
| 1997 | 9 | #9,012 |
| 1996 | 15 | #6,059 |
| 1995 | 13 | #6,636 |
| 1994 | 13 | #6,666 |
| 1993 | 25 | #4,095 |
| 1992 | 18 | #5,260 |
| 1991 | 23 | #4,323 |
| 1990 | 31 | #3,431 |
| 1989 | 18 | #4,842 |
| 1988 | 43 | #2,484 |
| 1987 | 33 | #2,913 |
| 1986 | 21 | #3,888 |
| 1985 | 30 | #3,007 |
| 1984 | 41 | #2,339 |
| 1983 | 39 | #2,397 |
| 1982 | 35 | #2,645 |
| 1981 | 59 | #1,848 |
| 1980 | 90 | #1,380 |
| 1979 | 65 | #1,694 |
| 1978 | 106 | #1,186 |
| 1977 | 87 | #1,325 |
| 1976 | 72 | #1,446 |
| 1975 | 66 | #1,527 |
| 1974 | 85 | #1,268 |
| 1973 | 97 | #1,138 |
| 1972 | 98 | #1,127 |
| 1971 | 122 | #1,015 |
| 1970 | 160 | #844 |
| 1969 | 128 | #940 |
| 1968 | 76 | #1,258 |
| 1967 | 57 | #1,478 |
| 1966 | 61 | #1,403 |
| 1965 | 57 | #1,463 |
| 1964 | 54 | #1,548 |
| 1963 | 79 | #1,233 |
| 1962 | 31 | #2,112 |
| 1961 | 35 | #1,954 |
| 1960 | 24 | #2,431 |
| 1959 | 25 | #2,288 |
| 1958 | 11 | #3,746 |
| 1957 | 15 | #3,032 |
| 1956 | 11 | #3,695 |
| 1955 | 12 | #3,376 |
| 1954 | 15 | #2,888 |
| 1953 | 0 | – |
| 1952 | 9 | #3,795 |
| 1951 | 0 | – |
| 1950 | 6 | #4,736 |
| 1949 | 8 | #3,891 |
| 1948 | 0 | – |
| 1947 | 0 | – |
| 1946 | 0 | – |
| 1945 | 0 | – |
| 1944 | 0 | – |
| 1943 | 5 | #4,690 |
Names like Shona
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Jessica, Cara, Tara, Erin, Mika, Holly, Sarah, Laura, Sabrina, Lara, Melissa, Sara
Names related to Shona
More Scottish names
Isla, Finley, Logan, Arabella, Cameron, Bonnie, Paisley, Brody, Carson, Maxwell, Brodie, Finlay, Blair, Lennox, Skye, Knox
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Shona: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/shona, updated 20 October 2026.