ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 2005 First Year 2024 Last Year 2019 Peak Year #8597 Peak Rank 130 Total Count 17 Years Active 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Kannon What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. Guanyin is a common Chinese name of the Bodhisattva associated with compassion known as Avalokiteśvara. Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means "\[The One Who\] Perceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as male in Indian Buddhism, Guanyin has been more commonly depicted as female in China and most of East Asia since about the 12th century. Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanyin) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanyin) [![Wikipedia thumbnail for Kannon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9f/Kuan-yan_bodhisattva%2C_Northern_Sung_dynasty%2C_China%2C_c._1025%2C_wood%2C_Honolulu_Academy_of_Arts.jpg/330px-Kuan-yan_bodhisattva%2C_Northern_Sung_dynasty%2C_China%2C_c._1025%2C_wood%2C_Honolulu_Academy_of_Arts.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanyin) 📖 ## The Story of Kannon Kannon first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1972, with 6 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 2020, when 525 Kannons were born — ranking #539 that year. As of 2026, Kannon ranks #1,193 for baby boys with 172 births, falling sharply (-43%). In total, more than 6K Kannons have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1970s through the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time ## Popularity by State ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data 🎶 ## Names that sound like Kannon Phonetically similar names — useful when Kannon is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [Cannon](/cannon) * [Canon](/canon) * [Cannan](/cannan) * [Kanin](/kanin) * [Conan](/conan) * [Keenan](/keenan) * [Canaan](/canaan) * [Kenan](/kenan) * Connon * [Canan](/canan) * [Kennan](/kennan) * [Kennen](/kennen) Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Kannon What does the name Kannon mean? Guanyin is a common Chinese name of the Bodhisattva associated with compassion known as Avalokiteśvara. Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means "\[The One Who\] Perceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as male in Indian Buddhism, Guanyin has been more commonly depicted as female in China and most of East Asia since about the 12th century. How popular is Kannon in 2026? In 2026, Kannon ranks #1,193 among boys' names in the U.S., with 172 babies given the name that year. When was Kannon most popular? Kannon reached its peak popularity in 2020, ranking #539 that year with 525 babies given the name. In which U.S. states is Kannon most popular? Kannon has historically been most popular in Delaware, Mississippi, Louisiana. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Kannon. Is Kannon a unisex name? In U.S. Social Security records, Kannon is primarily a boy's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a girl's name. What names go well with Kannon? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Kannon include Jerad, Zain, Emir. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. ## Similar Names [👧EllenoraPeak #8597](/ellenora)[👧AmoretPeak #8597](/amoret)[👧AmabelPeak #8597](/amabel)[👧AstonPeak #8597](/aston)[👧KaiceePeak #8597](/kaicee)[👧SameenPeak #8597](/sameen)[👧InfantgirlPeak #8597](/infantgirl)[👧ZannahPeak #8597](/zannah) ## About the name Kannon Kannon is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1972 and has accumulated 6K births in the dataset. Kannon's peak popularity came in 2020 when it ranked #539\. Use the chart and map above to compare Kannon's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 2020 → ](/year/2020) * [ Names of the 2020s → ](/decade/2020s) * [ Names starting with "K" → ](/letter/k) * [ Browse all boy names → ](/names/boys) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships. * Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — [Behind the Name ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.