Shauna?

[NoSo]

Thoughts on Shauna for a girl? I’ve just heard this name for the first time whilst watching Yellowjackets with my niece and quite like it. It’s different without being too unusual. As names are on my mind, I should probably stay away from all media whilst pregnant. 🙈

One of my best friends is Shauna. It's a pretty name and also unusual.

Very dated.

My best friend named her daughter Shauna it's a nice name 💕

I prefer Shona and Lorna, but it’s ok.

Dated

Dated. One of my favourite bits in Ferris Bueller's Day Off is when his sister tells bad boy Charlie Sheen (in the police station) that her name is 'Jean - but lots of the guys call me Shauna'.

It's her attempt to be cool and edgy.😂

I'm Scottish and Seonaid /Shona is not 'unusual' or 'different'. It's like being called Janet.

I don't think this is Sheonagh/Shona though (which I agree are perfectly normal in Scotland, if a bit dated) - more like Sean-a/Shaun-a. Although I've not seen Yellowjackets and might be wrong. I taught a Shauna once, little English girl with a Glaswegian mum. I prefer it in a Scottish accent to an English one.

Shona is a better spelling

This is my favourite girls name. I have 3 boys so never got to use it unfortunately

There’s nothing wrong with it but does sound a bit dated

To those suggesting it, Shona/Seona is a different name. That name is pronounce show-na.

Shauna is Seán with an a on the end.

It is a bit dated but there was a girl in my Dublin primary school in the 80s called Shauna and she was just so cool. So I've retained a soft spot for it.

@SkippitySkoppity , they are fundamentally the same in the way that Jane and Janet or Jean are, but Shauna is a bit like Johna (Johnna?).
AFAIK Johna isn't a name.

I've seen Seonagh (a Scottish woman) and Shona.

I don't think the average English-speaker could distinguish between the sounds of Shauna and Shona. Seán and Siôn don't quite sound the same -the difference is subtle - but tend to get transcribed as Shaun or Shawn.

I don't like the Shaun, Shawn and Shauna spellings.

Shauna and Shona are very different in my (London) accent.

First is 'or' and second is 'oh!'.

Yes. But this explanation only works in an English accent - or would have an audible r in a Scottish accent. It's more like aw.

Lovely. I've always loved Shauna. And Lorna and Dawne. It's a confident name.

I don't think the average English-speaker could distinguish between the sounds of Shauna and Shona

I'm Scottish and would pronounce them the same way (the Scottish way).

@FruAashild , I'm neither English nor Scottish and wouldn't.
The Seonagh I knew was from Angus, if that makes a difference.

It seems a bit dated. Unusual now, but probably not so much in the 1960s/early 1970s.

And it’s a totally different name from Shona, which is definitely more common, but I would have thought also quite dated.

All of these names are variants of Janet/John from either the Gaelic or Scots languages. Janet was pronounced and often spelled as Jonat in late mediaeval Scots. This was often pronounced Shonat (sometimes Shanet) in Gaelic-speaking areas and was subsequently Gaelicised as Seònaid (pronounced Shon-atch). Seònaid was then Scotticised back as Shona, with various spellings. Shona forms tend to be pronounced with the 'o' as in 'note'.

One of the many Gaelic forms of John was the now-forgotten form Seòn, (equivalent to Irish Seán and Welsh Siôn), pronounced Shaun, and this seems to have given rise to Seona and Shauna, used in Lowland areas from about 100 years ago. Prior to that, Johna was the popular female form, in use from the mid-18th century. This was pronounced with the 'o' as in 'not'.

Hard to tell with Seona if the owner pronounces it like 'not' or ''note'. Shauna and Johna should be like 'not' but it seems from PPs that some Scots pronounce them all like 'note'.

Whether the name is in fashion or not shouldn't matter if you like it OP, but you may find pronunciation issues depending in where you live.

I’m Scottish and Shauna and Shona are pronounced differently; Shauna - Sh-aw-na and Shona - Sh-oh-na.

Both awful in any case.

Lovely name

Shona and Shauna are different names, pronounced entirely differently.

They are both perfectly nice names.

I wouldn’t particularly have thought of Shauna as unusual but I do know several. As it happens they are all American or Canadian ladies in their 50s so perhaps it is due a resurgence?

I knew a couple of Shaunas as a child in Dublin in the 70s.

Lovely name imo. (Pronounced Shaw-na).

Siôn is pronounced like 'shown' but without the w sound, not Shaun. Sioned (equivalent to Janet) is pronounced SHON-ed. It was very popular a few decades ago but isn't particularly dated.