Sean

What Sean means

Means “God is gracious”

Anglicised form of Irish Seán, from Old French Jehan, from Latin Johannes, variant of Ioannes, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yōḥānān, literally “God is gracious”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Sean” (revision 94543381), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Sean?

US: Falling: down from #210 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #284 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1986, when 11,784 boys got the name (#37 that year). First in the US records in 1925.

How common

• About 1 in 2,773 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 4,458 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,091 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in DC (1.98 per 1,000 boys), DE (1.7 per 1,000 boys), NH (1.11 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Sean is #489 in the US and #615 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 98.9% of US babies named Sean were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Zian60 US · 25 E&W
• Cyan25 US · 3 E&W
• Senna14 US · 4 E&W
• Zeon11 US · 5 E&W
• Senay7 US · 8 E&W
• Sena11 US
• Sani7 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Spelling variants on Wiktionary

• Shaun
• Shawn
• Shohn
• Shon
• Shone

Listed as alternative forms on Wiktionary.

If you like Sean

Boys

• Ryan#99Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1985, with 29,905 babies; 3,532 in 2025
• Kevin#221“dear birth/person”^*
• Shane#635“God is gracious”^*
• Brian#339Same root as Brendan, meaning “prince, king”^*
• Shawn#681“God is gracious”^*
• Trevor#679Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1998, with 6,598 babies; 400 in 2025

For a sister

• Jennifer#586Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1972, with 63,600 babies; 501 in 2025
• Megan#887Diminutive of Margaret, meaning “pearl”^*
• Jenna#679Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1985, with 6,436 babies; 418 in 2025
• Briana#661Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1994, with 5,000 babies; 431 in 2025
• Morgan#312Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #121 in 2015, #312 in 2025
• Kaitlyn#799Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #197 in 2015, #799 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Irish & Celtic, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Sean’s. Rank is US 2025.