Siobhán

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Girl · Hebrew, through Norman French

Siobhán

Say it: shih-VAWN

Try it with your surname

Meaning

Irish form of Norman French Jehanne (Jeanne), feminine of Jehan, ultimately from Hebrew Yohanan 'Yahweh is gracious'.

Certainscholars agree on this meaning.

Came into Ireland with the Anglo-Normans and became thoroughly Gaelicized.

Its wave through time

Fading since the 1970s

In the United States

6,921 babies given this name since 1956
At its height in 1979, about 1 in 5,800 girls
63 babies in 2020

Through the ages

Used by

The family of the name

Other spellings: Siubhán

English	Joan
French	Jeanne
Scottish Gaelic	Seonag

Famous bearers

Siobhán McKenna, Irish actress

Names worth a look

BrigidGirlFrom Old Irish Brigit, from Proto-Celtic brigantī 'the high, exalted one'; the same root gives the British goddess…Early Medieval · peak 2000

ÚnaGirlUncertain; sometimes linked to uan 'lamb', which is probably folk etymology.Middle Ages · peak 1890

AoifeGirlUncertain. Often said to mean 'beauty' or 'radiance' (from aoibh), but this is not established; a link with the…Middle Ages · peak 2018

ÁineGirlUncertain. Linked to Old Irish áine 'splendour, brilliance', a gloss some scholars accept and others doubt.Middle Ages · peak 2004

NiamhGirlOld Irish niam 'brightness, lustre, radiance'.Middle Ages · peak 2008

MáireGirlIrish form of Mary, from Hebrew Miryam, whose meaning is uncertain.Middle Ages

Where this comes from

The Irish annals and early Irish literature
National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.