Cannon
Meaning
English surname from Middle English canon, a church official; the modern ear also hears the artillery word (Italian cannone, "large tube")
The story
Cannon is two names wearing one spelling, and Behind the Name keeps both honestly: the English surname derives from the Middle English canon, a church official or servant of a clergy house, while the modern ear hears the vocabulary word for the large gun, from the Italian cannone, "large tube", from the Latin canna, "cane, reed". So a boy named Cannon is, on paper, closer to a cathedral than an artillery line. The records show the arrival: sparse and intermittent before the 1970s, about 540 boys in the 1990s, about 2,400 in the 2000s, about 5,000 in the 2010s, and about 2,700 so far this decade. A churchman's title, a reed, a roar: rarely does one syllable carry three such different inheritances at once.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Cannon peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
When you meet Cannon
Most people given the name Cannon in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Cannon deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Cannon truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Cannon fits with your family’s names and surname.
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