Shannon

Shannon is an anglicization of the Irish name Sionainn, derived from the Old Irish Sionann, the mythological goddess associated with the River Shannon, Ireland's longest river. The name's deeper root is debated but is often linked to the Proto-Celtic element meaning old or ancient, cognate with the Latin senex. In Irish legend, Sionann was a granddaughter of the sea god Manannán mac Lir who drowned at the river's source while seeking forbidden wisdom. The name spread widely as an English-language given name for both males and females during the twentieth century, particularly in Ireland, the United States, and Australia, with Shanon and Shannon as occasional variant spellings.