The 11 Variations of "Sean"

Watching college football this season I learned about the excellent running back from Iowa named Shonn Green. I had never seen the name "Sean" spelled that way and I started thinking about the many variations of the name "Sean."

Parents have been creative naming their children and athletes from gymnasts to skateboarders to college football players have many variations off of the name Sean. I have decided that this is a great topic for a Slideshow and I hope everyone enjoys the many different spellings of the name. Most of these athletes should be well known, but a few are from some of my favorite teams.

I have come up with 11 variations of the name and I know there are more, so I am asking for help in the comments section if I have missed any.

The 11 athletes are Sean May, Shawn Johnson, Chone Figgins, Shaun White, Shawon Dunston, Shonn Green, Shawne Williams, LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, DeShawn Stevenson, Ra'Shon Harris.

Sean May

Sean May is a 6'9" Power Forward for the Charlotte bobcats. He was drafted 13th in 2005 and has been injured off and on since then. He was a High School McDonalds All-American and was a star on the 2005 North Carolina NCAA College Basketball Championship team. The Tar Heels defeated the University of Illinois by a score of 75-70 to win the title, with May scoring 26 points on 10-11 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds. He was one of four Tar Heels drafted in the first round of the NBA draft and was one of the top scorers on the team.

He has the most mainstream spelling of the name.

Shawn Johnson

Shawn Johnson is a gymnast from Iowa. She is the 2008 Olympic Women's balance beam gold medalist, the individual all-around silver medalist, the 2007 all-around World Champion, and the 2007 and 2008 U.S. all-around champion. Unlike most elite gymnasts who train around 40 hours a week, she trains 20-25 hours a week. At only 16 years old, she may be looking to defend her medals in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

She is the only woman on this list and has one of the most common variations.

Chone Figgins

Chone Figgins is on of the last true Utility players, as well as, an exciting player to watch. He was a fourth-round draft pick by the Colorado Rockies in the 1997 Major League Baseball Draft. He plays no less than 6 positions for the Angels and is great at all of them. He has a career batting average of .280 and has surprising power for a player listed at only 5'8". Known for being a good defender and being a threat on the bases.

Personally this is my favorite variation as I have not seen many others with it and I mispronounced the name for at least his first season.

Shaun White

Shaun White is one of the most popular Skateboarders/ Snowboarders. He is known for his red hair and he has become known as "The Flying Tomato. His biggest accomplishment was winning the snowboarding halfpipe gold medal in the 2006 Olympics. He also has one a gold in the X Games for both skateboarding and snowboarding. He recently has come out with his own signature snowboarding game. He is one of the most recognizable people in extreme sports.

Another common variation of the name.

Shawon Dunston

Shawon Dunston was the first overall pick by the Cubs in the 1982 draft. He was called up by the Cubs in 1985 and played on many other teams throughout his career. He was with the San Francisco Giants on three separate occasions and now works for the team. He retired in 2002 and was a two time all-star. He was a career .269 hitter with 150 home runs and 668 RBI in 1814 games.

My former favorite variation of Sean, before Chone Figgins, and the only variation I have never seen anyone else have.

Shonn Greene

Shonn is a breakout star for the 2008 college football season. He is a consensus 1st Team All-American and is only a junior. Shonn won the 2008 Doak Walker Award, becoming the first Iowa player to win the award. In 2007, Shonn took the year off from football to work and bring his grades up at a community college. He increased his rushing yards from 205 in 2006 to 1700 in 2008.

This variation is the inspiration for the slideshow. Very unique and one of my favorites.

Shawne Williams

Shawne Williams plays Forward for the Dallas Mavericks. He was selected 17th overall in the 2006 NBA Draft out of University of Memphis. At Memphis, he led all Conference USA freshmen in scoring and rebounding. He averaged 18.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in three games in the Conference USA tournament, being named the tournament MVP. He has recently been traded to the Mavericks and is getting inconsistent playing time off the bench.

A fairly rare way of spelling the name and a slight variation of Shawn.

LeSean McCoy

LeSean McCoy is a Sophomore running back from the University of Pittsburgh. He is one of the top running backs of the underclassmen and is eligible for the NFL draft after the season because he is three years removed from high school. He has over 2600 yards and has 34 touchdowns in his first two years combined. At the 2004 State College NIKE Training Camp, He recorded a 4.25 40 yard dash, the fastest of the event. He was invited to the Army All-American Bowl in high school, but missed it due to injuries.

Definitely a running back to watch in the upcoming seasons of college football.

DeSean Jackson

DeSean Jackson is a talented rookie wide receiver in the NFL. He was drafted in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles out of the University of Cal, Berkeley. At Cal, he was a dangerous punt returner and drew special attention from defenses. So far this season, DeSean has 852 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns. He is a product of the powerhouse Long Beach Poly high school and had one of the fastest 40 yard dash times at last years combine.

DeShawn Stevenson

DeShawn Stevenson is a Shooting Guard for the Washington Wizards. He was picked by the Utah Jazz with the 23rd selection of the 2000 NBA Draft out of his high school in Fresno, CA. He has scored at least 11 points per game in the last 3 seasons. Known for his beard and for talking trash to LeBron James. A major contributor to the Wizards in the last couple of postseasons. Received high praise by then Kansas coach Roy Williams, but test scores were an issue, so he decided to turn pro.

DeShawn is a great variation of the name and is one my personal favorites.

Ra'Shon Harris

Ra'Shon Harris is a starting defensive tackle for the Oregon Ducks. He is a senior from Pittsburg, CA and is a huge force on the defensive line for the Ducks. He has improved over his career at Oregon and may have a shot in the NFL, as he is 6'5", 300 pounds and is athletic. Helped the Ducks go 9-3 and reach the Holiday bowl. He was a major factor in turning one of the Ducks major question marks in rushing defense, to a strength.

The only variation on this list that has an apostrophe included in the name.