UK girl's name
Shonagh
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2002. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Shonagh is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Shonagh popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2002 in this profile. In that release it ranked #4137, with 3 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 1996, with 6 births.
This profile covers 26 England and Wales registrations across 6 recorded years from 1996 to 2002. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 50% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 195 living people in the UK are called Shonagh. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2003 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Shonagh ranked #4137 for girls in England and Wales in 2002, with 3 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 1996, when 6 girls were registered as Shonagh.
- • Shonagh ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #339 in 2002.
- • About 195 living people in the UK are estimated to have Shonagh as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#4137
2002
Births in 2002
3
Latest year
Peak year
1996
6 births
Estimated living
195
2026
Popularity
Shonagh over time
The chart below shows babies named Shonagh registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2002. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Shonagh, the clearest high point is 1996. The latest England and Wales figure is 3 births in 2002, compared with 6 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shonagh by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Shonagh was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | #3460 | 8 | 2 |
| 1990s | #3025 | 18 | 4 |
Geography
Where Shonagh is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Shonagh. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Shonagh ranks best in Northern Ireland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #339 in 2002.
Across the UK
Shonagh in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#577 in 2005
25 years of NRS records, 158 total registered
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#339 in 2002
4 years of NISRA records, 14 total registered
Related
Names similar to Shonagh
- Sophie 103,803
- Sophia 46,936
- Scarlett 34,261
- Sienna 32,418
- Sofia 29,136
- Sarah 27,961
- Shannon 25,510
- Summer 24,167
- Sara 14,205
- Skye 13,654
- Samantha 12,697
- Stephanie 9,309
FAQ
Shonagh: questions and answers
How popular is the name Shonagh in the UK right now?
In 2002, Shonagh was ranked #4137 for girls in England and Wales, with 3 births registered.
When was Shonagh most popular?
The peak year on record was 1996, with 6 babies registered as Shonagh in England and Wales.
How many people are called Shonagh in the UK?
A total of 26 babies have been registered as Shonagh across the 6 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 158 more in Scotland and 14 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Shonagh most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Shonagh ranks best in Northern Ireland, where it placed #339 in 2002. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.