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Sean

boy name
Origin
Irish
Syllables
1
Peak era
1980s/2000s
Today
▼ Cooling

Torn between Sean and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

"Yahweh is gracious," John come home to Ireland through the Norman French Jehan; anglicized without its accent mark, it became a mid-century Irish-American signature and spun off the phonetic Shawn and Shaun

Say it: SHAWN

The story

Sean is the English spelling of Irish Seán, the Irish form of John. The accent over the a, called a fada, belongs to the Irish spelling and helps mark the long vowel; American birth certificates usually dropped it while keeping the sound. Beneath that distinctly Irish surface sits the Hebrew meaning shared with John, Ian, and Juan: 'God is gracious.' Sean was nearly absent from early US records, then rose quickly after the 1940s as Irish names moved into the wider American mainstream. It reached a long high stretch from the 1970s through the 2000s and has eased since. The arc belongs to a name that once announced heritage and then became familiar enough to need no explanation. Even without the fada, Sean still carries Ireland in a single syllable.

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Sean across languages

One shared root links 47 names across 10 languages.

Shared root: from Hebrew Yochanan "God is gracious", carried through Greek Ioannes and Latin Iohannes into nearly every European language

The constellation

SeanIrishJohnEnglishJuanSpanishJeanFrenchIanScottishEvanWelshIvanSlavicJoãoPortugueseJohannGerman
38 more branches of this family
JackEnglish · short formJohnnyEnglish · diminutiveJohnnieEnglish · diminutiveJohnieEnglish · variantJhonSpanish · variantJeanneFrench · feminine formJeannieScottish · diminutiveJeanieScottish · diminutiveJeanetteFrench · diminutiveJeannetteFrench · diminutiveJeannineFrench · diminutiveJaneEnglish · feminine formJanieEnglish · diminutiveJayneEnglish · variantJannaEnglish · variantJennieEnglish · diminutiveJoanEnglish · feminine formJoannaEnglish · feminine formJoanneEnglish · variantJoannEnglish · variantJohannaGerman · feminine formJanetScottish · diminutiveJanetteFrench · diminutiveJaniceEnglish · related formJanelleEnglish · related formShawnIrish · variantShayneIrish · variantIvanaSlavic · feminine formGiovannaItalian · feminine formGiannaItalian · short formGianaItalian · variantGianniItalian · diminutiveJuanaSpanish · feminine formJuanitaSpanish · diminutiveHanselGerman · diminutiveJacksonEnglish · surname formJohnsonEnglish · surname formJonesWelsh · surname form

Ways to honor John →

How popular is Sean around the world?

In the United States, 4,789 babies were named Sean between 2020 and 2025. In Ireland, 38 boys named Sean were born in 2025, the 141st most common name among boys that year.

Sean is on the official records of the United States, Ireland, Scotland, South Australia, Canada, England and Wales, Mexico City, France, Austria, Chile, Spain and Brazil.

United States

1 in 4,500

In the United States, 4,789 babies were named Sean between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 1980s2020s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Sean peaked in the 1980s and the 2000s in nearly equal measure. Sean went to 1,902 US babies in 2015 and 623 in 2025, 33% of the earlier figure.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Ireland

1 in 1,400

In Ireland, 38 boys named Sean were born in 2025, the 141st most common name among boys that year.

1964peak 19972025

share of that year’s name registrations

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Sean, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

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Scotland

1 in 2,700

In Scotland, 17 boys named Sean were registered in 2024, the 234th most common name among boys that year.

1974peak 19922024

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

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South Australia

1 in 4,600 · 2017

In South Australia, 4 boys were registered as Sean in 2017.

1944peak 19932017

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

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Canada

1 in 5,600

In Canada, 65 boys named Sean were born in 2024, the 468th most common name among boys that year.

peak 19922024

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

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England and Wales

1 in 9,600

In England and Wales, 61 boys named Sean were born in 2025, the 615th most common name among boys that year.

peak 19962025

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

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Mexico City City

1 in 59,000

In Mexico City, there were 2 registrations of Sean in 2022.

peak 20022022

share of that year’s registrations in the city

Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

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France

1 in 64,000

In France, about 10 boys named Sean were born in 2025, ranked 2,906th among boys that year.

1960peak 20072025

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

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Austria

1 in 76,000

In Austria, 1 boy named Sean was born in 2025, ranked 1,842nd among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

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Chile

1 in 89,000

In Chile, 2 boys were registered as Sean in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

1960peak 2007

share of that year’s name registrations

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

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Spain

1 in 140,000

In Spain, 328 residents are named Sean, ranked 3,145th among men, with a mean age of 32.5 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

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Brazil

1 in 500,000

At the 2022 census, 382 people in Brazil were named Sean, ranked 16,106th, with a median age of 26.
Among people named Sean living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.

1960speak 1990s2010s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

The census also counted 21 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

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Argentina

last on record 2023

Sean is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.

2012peak 20162024

share of that year’s name registrations

Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024

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Montevideo City

last on record 2010

Sean is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

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New South Wales

outside the top 100

Sean is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.

peak 19692025

share of that year’s top-100 registrations

New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names

See the full list for New South Wales →

New Zealand

last on record 2024

Sean is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.

1950peak 19932025

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

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Norway

last on record 2022

Sean is not on the 2025 record for Norway, where names carried by fewer than 4 people in a year are withheld at source.

1960peak 20072025

share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure

People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)

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Poland

last on record 2022

Sean is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.

2000peak 20082025

share of that year’s name registrations

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Sean, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

See the full list for Poland →

Puerto Rico

last on record 2021

Sean is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 213 babies have carried the name there since 1998.

1998peak 20062025

share of that year’s births on record

First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)

See the full list for Puerto Rico →

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Sean

Most people given the name Sean in the United States were born between 1970 and 1999. The Sean you meet today is most often in his 30s or 40s.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Sean

Davi Adam Daniel Ian Jacob Liam

Where Sean travels

Irish American · A documented choice in Irish American families.

Keep exploring

Names like Sean · Names that go with Sean · Irish American baby names · Short names · Climbers and fallers

The Sean deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Sean truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Sean fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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