Sean Name Meaning & Origin
Sean
Origin of the name Sean:
Derived from Seán, an Irish cognate of John (God is gracious). See JOHN.
From A World of Baby Names by Teresa Norman.
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US Popularity of Sean Over Time

Sister & Brother Names
Know a Sean? What are his siblings named?
Name Lists Featuring Sean
- Irish Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in the Republic of Ireland 2014
- Irish Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Northern Ireland 2014
- Irish Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Ireland, 2010
- Scottish Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Scotland, 2011
- Scottish Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Scotland for 2012
- Irish Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in Northern Ireland for 2012
- Irish Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in the Republic of Ireland for 2012
- Irish Boys Names: Most Popular Names for Boys in the Republic of Ireland
Contribute your knowledge to the name Sean
- Comments and insights on the name Sean
John is listed here as a common brother's name for Seán. Please do not name multiple children in the same family Seán, John, and Ian. It's the same name.
I don't agree re "Please do not name multiple children in the same family Seán, John, and Ian". My
name is John. Not wanting to upset either granddad, and wanting my son named after me without using
"Jr", we named our first son Ian. Our second son, Seán. Both sons are adults now, both love their
unique name, and proud of them.Haha I just read that. I agree. My husband's name is Seán Patrick. Very Irish. Pretty name.
My son's first name is Ethan and middle being Seán. I picked that because my husband's name is John plus I liked the name Shawn in general but thought that spelling didn't match and like Seán better. I also have a son named Ryan which goes with the Irish naming (although I'm only a little Irish). Also love the show psych whose main character is named Shawn.
Seán is the common Irish version of John. One of many versions of that name, we're also common to: John, Seán, Johann, Jean, Juan and many, many others spread across nearly all cultures...
The positioning of the accent (fada) in this name is *very important*. Seán is the Irish for John. Séan is pronounced Shane and is the Ulster dialect spelling. Sean (shhan) is a common spelling but actually means 'old, senior, ancestor' and is a common vocabulary word in the Irish language. Eóin (pronounced O-in) is another less common form of the name John in the Irish language.
- Personal experiences with the name Sean
My elder son is Seán even if i'm not from an english spoken country. I'm french and gabonese so french is my mother tong. Sometimes people can't easily pronounce Seán even for my family and i Think my pronounciation is a little bit wrong but my husband wanted to name his first children Seán. So in order to continue with celtic/ gaelic/ english name we decided to name ou second son Liam. I think it sounds not too bad. Now we try to find a third name for the next baby not too far from this style.
I love my sons' name and i think they do too.- Nicknames for Sean
Shawny, Se, Shaw,Seánie
In Ireland, sometimes people would call my brother "Seáinín" (Pronounced Shawneen)
- Meanings and history of the name Sean
Hebrew for heavenly generosity
- Famous real-life people named Sean
Seán Penn - American actor
Seán Berdy- American actor and comedian
Seán Connery- British Actor
Seán Lennon - American musician; son of John Lennon
Seán Payton - American football coach
Seán Combs - American musician
Seán McNamera- Movie director
Seán Astin- American actor
Seán Biggerstaff- British actor
Seán Bean - also British Actor
Seán Thoburn - Unseen Asian Actor
Seán Monahan - professional ice hockey player (Calgary Flames)
Seán Hannity - Fox News host
Seán Spicer - former White House press secretary
Seán McLoughlin - Popular Youtuber (Jacksepticeye)
Sean Smith - Information Management Officer in the State Department and United States Air Force Veteran, who was slain in the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. Government Mission to Libya in Benghazi- Sean in song, story & screen
Dr. Seán McNamera- "Nip/Tuck"
Shawn Hunter- "Boy meets World"
Seán Finnerty- "Grounded For Life"
Seán Reagan- Danny's son on Blue Bloods
Dr. Seán Green "The Ghost Bird" series
Seán Cassidy, the original Banshee in the -Men comics
Shawn the Sheep, cartoon and movie