FastNamesSean
Irish and Hebrew name meaning "Irish Gaelic adaptation of Norman French Jehan (John), ultimately from Hebrew Yochanan meaning 'Yahweh is gracious'.". Ranked 489th for boys in 2025.
Meaning and origin of Sean
Irish Gaelic adaptation of Norman French Jehan (John), ultimately from Hebrew Yochanan meaning 'Yahweh is gracious'.
Linguistically, Sean is classified under Irish and Hebrew naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "SHAWN".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, Sean has been given to a total of 423,637 boys. It has also been given to 2,969 girls.
Peak year: Sean reached its highest relative share among boys in 1986, when 11,784 babies received the name (6,399 per million births).
All-time best rank: 33rd place, first achieved in 1972.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 489th with 616 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 210th (down 279 spots).
Busiest decade: More boys were named Sean in the 1980s than in any other decade (103,870 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1920s | 12 |
| 1930s | 101 |
| 1940s | 659 |
| 1950s | 5,452 |
| 1960s | 47,282 |
| 1970s | 83,819 |
| 1980s | 103,870 |
| 1990s | 92,003 |
| 2000s | 64,133 |
| 2010s | 21,540 |
| 2020s | 4,766 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where Sean is most common in the US
Accounting for when Sean was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- Massachusetts: 2.1 times the national rate (19,527 births since 1910).
- Hawaii: 1.8 times the national rate (2,639 births since 1910).
- Delaware: 1.7 times the national rate (1,678 births since 1910).
- Connecticut: 1.7 times the national rate (7,927 births since 1910).
- District of Columbia: 1.7 times the national rate (3,195 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name Sean?
About 396,000 living American boys and men share the name Sean. Additionally, an estimated 2,800 living American girls and women share the name.
The median age of an American named Sean is 38 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name Sean
Sean (traditionally spelled Seán in Irish) represents the Gaelic adaptation of the Norman French personal name Jehan, brought to Ireland by Anglo-Norman invaders during the twelfth century. Jehan itself is the Old French descendant of Latin Johannes, rooted in the ancient Hebrew theophoric name Yochanan (יוֹחָנָן), meaning 'Yahweh is gracious' or 'favored of the Lord'. Over centuries, Seán became one of the quintessential national names of Ireland.
Because Irish orthography uses the 's' followed by an 'e' or 'i' to produce the 'sh' sound, English-speaking observers historically transcribed the name phonetically as Shaun or Shawn. However, the authentic Gaelic spelling Sean crossed into mainstream global prominence during the mid-twentieth century, propelled by Irish diaspora literature, theatre, and the international stardom of Scottish actor Sean Connery as James Bond in the 1960s.
In the United States, Sean experienced phenomenal popularity between the late 1960s and 2000s, holding a continuous spot in the national top fifty boys' names from 1969 through 1999, and reaching its peak at rank 33 in 1987 with 13,873 births. Globally admired bearers include two-time Academy Award-winning actor and director Sean Penn, actor Sean Astin, and renowned Irish playwright Seán O'Casey.
Notable people named Sean
- Sean Connery (1930–2020), Scottish Academy Award-winning actor
- Sean Penn (1960–), American two-time Academy Award-winning actor and director
- Sean Astin (1971–), American actor and director
- Sean Combs (1969–), American rapper, record producer, and music executive
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- Patrick Woulfe. Irish Names and Surnames (1923), p. 212.
- Patrick Hanks, Flavia Hodges. Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 243.