Shawn
Shawn is a male given name: 90% of people named Shawn are men, and it is recorded as male in 1 of the 4 countries covered.
- Verdict
- Male
- Male / female split
- 90% male / 10% female
- Confidence
- High (64 or more weighted country observations)
- Most common in
- United States, Malta, Great Britain
- US births since 1880
- 301,891 male / 32,960 female
- Data
- nam_dict (GFDL) + US SSA
- Updated
- 2026-09-11
How to address Shawn
When you do not know their gender for certain, the full name with no title is the safe choice: "Dear Shawn," in English, "Guten Tag Shawn," in German. Shawn is a male given name: about 90% of people named Shawn are men. A quick look at a profile confirms it for certain.
Ready-made greetings in six languages
English
Dear Shawn,
German
Guten Tag Shawn,
French
Bonjour Shawn,
Spanish
Estimado/a Shawn:
Chinese
Shawn您好：
Japanese
Shawn様
English
Hi Shawn,
German
Hi Shawn,
French
Salut Shawn,
Spanish
Hola Shawn,
Chinese
Shawn你好：
Japanese
Shawnさん
This is a statistical estimate, not a statement about the gender, identity or correct form of address of any particular person.
Country breakdown
| Country | How common | Usually | Male share |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | very common | man's name | 90% |
| Malta | rare | man's name | 75% |
| Great Britain | rare | man's name | 75% |
| Ireland | rare | man's name | 75% |
United States birth data
301,891 male · 32,960 female · 334,851 births recorded
Since 1980: 97% male.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shawn a male or female name?
Shawn is a male given name: 90% of people named Shawn are men, and it is recorded as male in 1 of the 4 countries covered.
How do I address Shawn in an email?
When you do not know their gender for certain, the full name with no title is the safe choice: "Dear Shawn," in English, "Guten Tag Shawn," in German. Shawn is a male given name: about 90% of people named Shawn are men. A quick look at a profile confirms it for certain.
Is Shawn a unisex name?
Shawn is not a unisex name: 90% of people named Shawn are men. Shawn leans strongly male overall.
Related names
Sources
Gender by country: nam_dict, the c't first-names dictionary by Joerg Michael, roughly 44,000 names across 55 countries, licensed GFDL. US frequencies: United States Social Security Administration baby-name data, public domain. Method: how we classify names. Full dataset: data & licences. Data built 2026-09-11.
DearWho, "Is Shawn a male or female name?", https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/shawn (accessed 2026-09-11). Data: nam_dict (J. Michael, GFDL) and US SSA, built 2026-09-11.
BibTeX
@misc{dearwho_shawn,
title = {Is Shawn a male or female name?},
author = {{DearWho}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/shawn},
note = {Data: nam_dict (GFDL), US SSA public domain}
}