Kannon

Kannon can be used as a modern spelling of English Cannon, but it also has an independent Japanese religious meaning. In Japanese Buddhism, Kannon is the name of the bodhisattva associated with compassion, known in Sanskrit as Avalokiteshvara. These histories are distinct: the Japanese name has no linguistic connection with the English word for a weapon.

Families considering Kannon may want to decide which association they intend and how they will explain it. Cannon makes the English word route more apparent, while Kannon can carry the Japanese Buddhist reference. Similar spelling does not make the two meanings interchangeable, and a personal name chosen for sound alone need not be assigned an invented ancient origin.