Shannon

Borrowed from Irish Sionainn.

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃænən/

• Audio (Southern England)

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• Rhymes: -ænən

Shannon

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 small town in Horowhenua District, North Island, New Zealand.
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.
   • 1896, Report of the Commission to Locate the Site of the Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania, C.M.Busch, state printer, page 283:

     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.

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

     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.

• NZ Topo Map

• Hannons

Yn Çhannon f

1. the Shannon River