Bohannon

Meaning & origin

Bohannon is an exceedingly rare given name that entered the U.S. baby name charts in 2014, following a broader trend of surnames adopted as first names. Its peak came in 2022, when it reached its highest rank before beginning a gradual decline. As of 2025, it sits at rank 9,714, with an incidence of 1 in 244,011 births, making it a distinctive choice for parents seeking an uncommon name with Irish surname roots. The name has no consistent spelling, as variants like Bohanan also appear infrequently. Bohannon's trajectory is falling: after a brief ascent in the early 2020s, its usage has decreased since 2021. Despite its rarity, it has not been recorded in any top state data, indicating its distribution is scattered. For parents drawn to surnames like Sullivan or Finnegan, Bohannon offers a more obscure alternative, though its meaning remains tied to its Irish patronymic origin rather than a clear definition.

Bohannon is a rare given name that originated as a transferred use of the Irish surname Bohannon, itself an Anglicized form of Ó Buadhachanáin, meaning 'descendant of Buadhachanán', a personal name derived from buadhach ('victorious'). However, in modern usage it is often a creative respelling or familial surname given as a first name, with no direct meaning beyond its surname roots. Its use as a given name began only in the 2010s, following the trend of using surnames as first names in the United States.