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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

Shawn en · PROPN

Pronunciation

  • /ʃɔn/ without the cot–caught merger
  • /ʃɔn/ (Scotland)
  • shôn
  • (US) audio cot-caught
  • /ʃɔːn/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /ʃɑn/ (cot-caught-merger)
  • /ʃoːn/ (Australia, British, New-Zealand, Southern, Standard)

Etymology

A variant of Sean, from Irish Seán, from Old French Jehan, from Latin Jōhannēs, variant of Iōannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (yōḥānān, yokhanán, literally “God is gracious”). Doublet of Evan, Giovanni, Ian, Ivan, Jack, Jean, Johan, Johann, Johannes, John, Juan, Sean, Shane, and Shaun as a male name. Doublet of Ivana, Jana, Jane, Janice, Janis, Jean, Jeanne, Jen, Joan, Joanna, Joanne, Johanna, Juana, Shavonne, Sian, Siobhan, Shane, Shaun, Shauna, and Sheena as a female name.

Meanings

  1. (US, alt-of, alternative) Alternative form of Shaun, a unisex given name.
    alt of Shaun
    • Earlier this week, an anonymous Jane Doe filed an amended complaint against Combs and Jay-Z, whose given name is Shawn Carter, which revealed that a previously unnamed celebrity in her original complaint against Combs, initially filed in October, was Carter. 2024 December 14, Elizabeth Wagmeister, “Jay-Z says inconsistencies in rape accuser’s story proves her attorney was looking for ‘money and fame’”, in CNN:
    • Two weeks later Dot and her girl, who was finally named Shawn, like most girls born that year, came back to work at the scales. 1984, Louise Erdrich, Love Medicine, Bantam Books, published 1987, →ISBN, page 169:
    • Or take Sean, S-E-A-N. Been spelled like that for about five hundred years. But not them, they've gotta spell it S-H-A-W-N. Like they have a right to that name in the first place. 1996, Tobias Wolff, The Night in Question: Stories, Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, page 141:

Deriveds

Shawna · DeShawn · Deshawn