An Irish and Scottish surname, Shannon comes from the Gaelic term ‘seanain’ which means a wise person, one with long term wisdom. The spelling variations for Shannon include Shennane, Shan, Shanen, Shanon and Shennan. In England the Shannon surname is scattered across most of the country. The higher percentage of those with the Shannon family name is in Lancashire, the city of London, Durham and Yorkshire. In Scotland in the region of Kintyre is where the Shannon families originated. Many have spread across Scotland over the centuries. The greatest numbers are found in Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Ayrshire and Dumfries-shire. Over the centuries many Shannon families moved to Ireland from Scotland. The Shannon surname is popular in County Clare. Within the United States many Shannon families originated in New York, Pennsylvania Ohio, New Jersey, Illinois, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Texas and Michigan. Famous: Richard Shannon (writer), Del Shannon (songwriter and singer), Fred Albert Shannon (historian and a Pulitzer Prize winner), Molly Helen Shannon (television actress and comic), Paul Shannon (journalist), George Shannon (part of the Lewis and Clark Expedition 1803 - 1805), Les Shannon (footballer in England), Darryl Shannon (hockey player from Canada) and Sharon Shannon (musician from Ireland).