Sean: Meaning, Pronunciation and Origin
Sean is an Irish boy's name meaning “God's gracious gift.” Here’s how to say it, where it comes from, and names that go well with it.
Updated September 2026
- Irish spelling
- Seán
- Meaning
- God's gracious gift
- Gender
- Boy
- English forms
- Shaun, Shawn, Shane
- Popularity in Ireland
- No. 23 for boys (2025)
How do you pronounce Sean?
Sean is pronounced SHAWN. It has one syllable.
What does Sean mean?
Irish form of John meaning “God’s gracious gift.” Shane is a very popular variant of the name in Northern Ireland in memory of Shane O’Neill whose forces won notable victories over the armies of Queen Elizabeth 1st in the sixteenth century.
How popular is Sean in Ireland?
In 2025, 185 baby boys in Ireland were named Seán, which made it No. 23 that year. Another 46 were registered as Sean, Seàn or Séan. That's down from No. 5 ten years earlier. It was most popular in 2006, when 994 baby boys were named Sean, No. 1 that year. The records go back to 1964, when 171 baby boys were given the name.
See the numbers by year
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 231 | No. 23 (Seán) |
| 2024 | 275 | No. 15 (Seán) |
| 2023 | 296 | No. 14 (Seán) |
| 2022 | 307 | No. 19 (Seán) |
| 2021 | 347 | No. 16 (Seán) |
| 2020 | 355 | No. 20 (Seán) |
| 2019 | 359 | No. 23 (Seán) |
| 2018 | 440 | No. 13 (Seán) |
| 2017 | 453 | No. 5 (Sean) |
| 2016 | 501 | No. 5 (Sean) |
| 2015 | 530 | No. 5 (Sean) |
| 2014 | 526 | No. 5 (Sean) |
| 2013 | 609 | No. 5 (Sean) |
| 2012 | 677 | No. 4 (Sean) |
| 2011 | 755 | No. 3 (Sean) |
| 2010 | 827 | No. 2 (Sean) |
| 2009 | 934 | No. 2 (Sean) |
| 2008 | 970 | No. 2 (Sean) |
| 2007 | 965 | No. 2 (Sean) |
| 2006 | 994 | No. 1 (Sean) |
| 2005 | 893 | No. 2 (Sean) |
| 2004 | 928 | No. 1 (Sean) |
| 2003 | 897 | No. 1 (Sean) |
| 2002 | 866 | No. 2 (Sean) |
| 2001 | 867 | No. 2 (Sean) |
| 2000 | 816 | No. 2 (Sean) |
| 1999 | 760 | No. 2 (Sean) |
| 1998 | 662 | No. 2 (Sean) |
| 1997 | 872 | No. 1 (Sean) |
| 1996 | 804 | No. 2 (Sean) |
| 1995 | 705 | No. 4 (Sean) |
| 1994 | 628 | No. 7 (Sean) |
| 1993 | 662 | No. 6 (Sean) |
| 1992 | 729 | No. 5 (Sean) |
| 1991 | 657 | No. 7 (Sean) |
| 1990 | 620 | No. 10 (Sean) |
| 1989 | 594 | No. 9 (Sean) |
| 1988 | 560 | No. 11 (Sean) |
| 1987 | 533 | No. 14 (Sean) |
| 1986 | 519 | No. 16 (Sean) |
| 1985 | 497 | No. 16 (Sean) |
| 1984 | 476 | No. 15 (Sean) |
| 1983 | 464 | No. 15 (Sean) |
| 1982 | 443 | No. 22 (Sean) |
| 1981 | 445 | No. 20 (Sean) |
| 1980 | 370 | No. 28 (Sean) |
| 1979 | 346 | No. 28 (Sean) |
| 1978 | 275 | No. 34 (Sean) |
| 1977 | 338 | No. 27 (Sean) |
| 1976 | 282 | No. 34 (Sean) |
| 1975 | 278 | No. 34 (Sean) |
| 1974 | 327 | No. 30 (Sean) |
| 1973 | 317 | No. 29 (Sean) |
| 1972 | 274 | No. 33 (Sean) |
| 1971 | 291 | No. 27 (Sean) |
| 1970 | 259 | No. 31 (Sean) |
| 1969 | 232 | No. 35 (Sean) |
| 1968 | 211 | No. 37 (Sean) |
| 1967 | 221 | No. 36 (Sean) |
| 1966 | 235 | No. 33 (Sean) |
| 1965 | 163 | No. 41 (Sean) |
| 1964 | 171 | No. 38 (Sean) |
Sean in Ogham
Ogham is the oldest way of writing Irish. It was carved along the edges of standing stones, mostly between the 4th and 6th centuries, and read from the bottom up. In later tradition each letter was named after a tree or plant. Here’s Sean, letter by letter.
- SSail, willow
- EEadhadh, aspen
- AAilm, pine
- NNion, ash
Write any name in Ogham with our Ogham translator
Names that go with Sean
Questions about Sean
- How do you pronounce Sean?
- Sean is pronounced SHAWN. One syllable.
- What does Sean mean?
- Sean means “God's gracious gift.”
- Is Sean a girl's name or a boy's name?
- Sean is a boy's name.
- How do you spell Sean in Irish?
- In Irish it's spelled Seán. That's the spelling most parents in Ireland now register, according to the Central Statistics Office.
- What is Sean in English?
- The English forms of Sean are Shaun, Shawn and Shane.
- How popular is Sean in Ireland?
- In 2025, Seán was No. 23 for boys in Ireland, with 185 babies, according to the Central Statistics Office. It was most popular in 2006, at No. 1.