Shan - Name Meaning and Popularity -

Meaning of Shan

Shan is a concise masculine given name of dual heritage, rooted in Chinese and Irish traditions. In Mandarin (/ʃan/) it encompasses characters meaning “goodness” (善) or “mountain” (山), while in Irish (/hən/) it appears as a modern variant of Sean—itself derived from the Hebrew Yohanan, “God is gracious.” In the United States its appeal has remained modest and consistent: eight newborns received the name in 2024, placing Shan at No. 916 after a peak in the mid-800s during the early 2010s. Its crisp phonetics and multicultural pedigree have attracted a niche following, notably within Latino communities seeking a succinct, cross-cultural moniker.