Properly write name meaning

Hello, I’m sure that you have been asked this a lot, but how do you write my name meaning properly in Japanese? I’ve tried different translating apps and they all translate something different. My name means Small wise owl, but I don’t want to accidentally write out “little dumb bird” or something like that lol
Thank you for any help on this!

Indeed we often get questions about writing non-Japanese/non-kanji names in Japanese.

When people ask for "Japanese name" for their western names, there are two things we can do:

(1) -a. write the name as it sounds phonetically (in katakana writing, normally used to write non-Japanese, non-kanji words and names),
(1) -b. furthermore, for some names, we could find kanji that have similar or same sounds to the original name (thus to the katakana writing) and choose a kanji combination that has pleasant meaning. In this case, the selection of kanji is completely arbitrary and up to the person who chooses the kanji, as there can be many different kanji that have the same sound.
or
(2) take the original "meaning" of your name in your language, and find a Japanese name/word that is closest in "meaning" to your name. In this case, the sound can be completely different from the original name.

In your case, you are asking for (2) from the beginning – but do you realize then that the reading of that would be completely different from your name, and that it will just be a string of Japanese words, that’s it? You cannot really say that that is your name in Japanese, it’s just a string of words… And if I may ask, what do you want to use it for?

A tattoo. I know that sentence structure is different from western structure and that’s what’s throwing me off

シャノン

Thank you so much!!!!

@Shannon, what do you mean with “Thank you so much”???

I dearly hope you don’t think that シャノン　what a PP posted is a kanji for small wise owl. It isn’t, it isn’t even a kanji but katakana and simply is a phonetic description of “Shannon”. So don’t tattoo this.

Good looking out Like Bike....I’m a little embarrassed now lol

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannon_(given_name)
https://www.libraryireland.com/names/men/seanan-senan.php

"Shannon"'s meaning seems to be "wise", but nothing related to a little owl.
If you simply want a Japanese name that (partially) means "wise", there are lots of them. Choose one you like, based on the pronunciation and meaning. The Empress emerita is named Michiko (美智子), for example, with the kanjis for "beautiful", "wise" and "child".

Some examples (I just did a quick search, there are more websites around):
To find a Japanese name: https://japanese-names.info/
To check the meaning of each individual kanji: https://jisho.org/search/
Among names with the same pronunciation, some combinations of kanjis are more common than others. It might be a good idea to do a google search, to see if the name you settled on is used by known people. Or ask a native Japanese speaker to be 100% sure.

On a side note: the idea of getting your own name tattooed, rather than a pendant or bracelet, is a bit disturbing, IMO. I am not Japanese, but have a Chinese name (ie: easily "translatable" into kanjis) in addition to my official western name. I would never think of having any of them written on my skin.

My name means Small wise owl, but I don’t want to accidentally write out “little dumb bird” or something like that lol

So you trust anonymous internet users like me to come up with a writing? What if you're a male and I come up with a sissy girl's name or vice versa?

What gender do you prefer your name to be for, anyway? And where does the "owl" come from? (There is no "owl" in Shannon.) Also, how old are you, if I may ask?

I do not think it's a good idea to count on the internet for a tattoo design, but maybe someone can help you name yourself, so that you could use it to write names on your belongings and to introduce yourself to others in an amusing way.

Frankly, it’s no ones business how old I am. I’m female, and in the Hebrew origin Shannon means small wise owl. And since I don’t know, I figured this was the best way to find out how to properly write this out.

I love different languages (just don’t have a talent to learn/grasp the structure). I already have Hebrew, and I love the Japanese characters

Thank you to everyone that’s been helpful!

Thank you for your feedback. Then how about:

智鴞子

and have it read as "cho-u-ko"?

I randomly made it up, but I think it would sound natural as a name for a female of all ages. Perhaps a bit old-fashioned for a teenager, but still works, and it doesn't sound like a kid even if used as a name for an aged person.

智 is a Chinese character (which is commonly used in Japanese names) which means "wisdom" among many things. It can be read as "chi" among many pronunciations.

鴞 is a Chinese character which means "owl" among many things. It can be read as "yo-u" among many pronunciations.

子 is a Chinese character which means "child" among many things. It can be read as "ko" among many pronunciations. It is also commonly used at the end of female names.

You can think about using the Chinese character 小 which means "small", but I couldn't squeeze it in without making the name sound like that of a geisha (entertainers who traditionally entertained males only).

As mentioned, you can't really "translate properly" names into Japanese. This is just an idea of mine, and I do think it's pretty. In the nearly 60 years of being a Japanese female, I've never heard of a name with the factor of "owl" in it, but when I thought about it, I felt that the character would be lovely used in a name, which is why I became interested in your question.

You can sign it on your emails and cards, and tell people that it's like your nickname. To make sure you pronounce your own name correctly, go to Google Translate, select "Japanese", copy and paste
ちょうこ
and tap the speaker icon. That's how you pronounce it, according to my idea.
https://translate.google.co.jp/?hl=ja#view=home&op=translate&sl=ja&tl=...

It's none of my business if people laugh behind your back, but I would strongly encourage you not to use it as a tattoo, at least not until you have met a tattoo artist who you can truly trust to have full knowledge of the Japanese language (if not Chinese). You're free to not believe me, but if you copy and past the above name and ink it on you, you will look dumb from a Japanese person's perspective. And you don't even know if people would like the name yet.

I hope you like your name. Regards from a professional Japanese translator.

Thank you very much for your help Uco. This is so helpful and I love the thought you put into it. Thank you!!!!