Seamus

maleIrish, from Hebrew via James

The Anglicized form of Séamus, the Irish form of James — ultimately from Hebrew Ya'akov via Latin Iacomus.

Origin: Irish, from Hebrew via James

Official popularity data is available for 4 regions, from 1964 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #55 in Republic of Ireland in 1967. See regions.

Seamus: Recorded every year since 1964, its highest recorded position is #55, and it stood at #402 in 2025.

4registrars recorded it
121times a registrar ranked it
62years from first to last
#55highest recorded position
23groupings it qualifies for

What stands out in Seamus's record

Ranked every year since 1964, without a single year missing. Names by continuity of record
Held a top-100 place for 33 years running. Names by top-100 run
Moved 163 places between two consecutive years — its largest recorded change. Names by largest single-year move

SHAY-mus/ˈʃeɪ.məs/

Compare Seamus Run Name Checker on Seamus

Data Confidence

Evidence: HighCompleteness: CompleteEditorial review: 2026-07-21

Confidence in the evidencebehind this name's data — never a rating of the name itself, and never affected by how well it matches your preferences. How this is assessed

Because: backed by officially or academically authoritative sources, recently verified, popularity data covers multiple regions.

Source authority

Averaged from the real per-claim source-authority assessments already computed for this name's meaning/origin/pronunciation/popularity evidence.

Independent corroboration

Averaged from the real per-claim supporting-source counts already computed for this name's evidence.

See full evidence assessment (8 dimensions, 1 not yet tracked)

Source agreement

No recorded source disagreement for this name's meanings or origins.

Recency

Calculated from how long ago this record was last verified (2026-07-21), against a 270-day staleness threshold.

Geographic relevance

Calculated from the number of geographies with official popularity data (4) — broader official coverage means the evidence base is relevant to more of where the name is actually used.

Completeness

Calculated from how many of the expected data sections (variants, similar names, popularity, notable usage, IPA pronunciation) are actually populated for this name.

Direct observation vs. inference

Averaged from the real per-claim direct-observation-vs-inference ratios already computed for this name's evidence.

Identity & variant resolution quality

Cross-source identity and variant resolution requires HEKNO Knowledge, which isn't connected yet.

Name Characteristics

How these are calculated

Descriptive attributes of the name itself — not a confidence measurement, and not an overall quality score. Namewise doesn't approve or disapprove of names.

Pronunciation clarity

Editorial judgement of how consistently this name is pronounced correctly on first read, mapped from an easy/moderate/variable rating to a number. Describes the name — not a measure of evidence confidence.

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling: shorter names with fewer irregular letter clusters score higher. A disclosed formula, not an editorial opinion — and not a confidence measurement.

Recorded regional spread

Derived from how many geographies' official statistics record this name. It measures where the name is registered, not how well-known it feels to people living there.

International spread

Derived from the same official statistical coverage, scaled to reflect how widely the name crosses national datasets. Not a measure of how easily it is understood in another language.

Trend stability

Derived from the name's traditional/modern classification and its current popularity trend direction.

Overview

Origin: Irish, from Hebrew via James
Meaning: The Anglicized form of Séamus, the Irish form of James — ultimately from Hebrew Ya'akov via Latin Iacomus.
Pronunciation: SHAY-mus
Syllables: 2
Common nicknames: None recorded
Classification: Traditional & modern
Gender usage: male
Language family: Irish, from Hebrew via James

Popularity

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2025

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#564
1997	#629
1998	#470
1999	#499
2000	#554
2001	#518
2002	#534
2003	#615
2004	#655
2005	#666
2006	#688
2007	#638
2008	#712
2009	#944
2010	#832
2011	#1045
2012	#1051
2013	#910
2014	#1117
2015	#927
2016	#1319
2017	#1021
2018	#887
2019	#1113
2020	#1150
2021	#1448
2022	#1143
2023	#1363
2024	#981
2025	#1538

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in Republic of Ireland in every year from 1964 to 2025.

In 2025: #402 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #1538 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 4 national registrars across 4 regions, 1964–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1964
First recorded at #60 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1964 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #1538 among boys in England and Wales, in 2025.
England and Wales · Boys

Seamus appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Boys, which has ranked it in 62 years beginning in 1964, and has registered 4,660 births with the name.

Seamus across 3 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Seamus's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#60 (1964)	#55 (1966)	#402 (2025)	62 of 62	4,660 (1964–2025)	157 (1977)
England and Wales · Boys	#564 (1996)	#470 (1998)	#1538 (2025)	30 of 30	926 (1996–2025)	45 (2007)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#118 (1997)	#108 (2001)	#239 (2024)	28 of 28	323 (1997–2024)	21 (2001)

Where the highest position is not the biggest year

Inside a single year a registrar's ranking is its birth counts put in order, so the top of a list is always the name given to the most babies that year. Across years the two separate, because the number of births and the number of names sharing them both change.

In Republic of Ireland · Boys the name reached its highest position, #55, in 1966, when 112 births were registered with it. More were registered in 1977 — 157 — in a year it ranked #59.

Seamus by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Seamus in Republic of Ireland · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960s	629	6 of 10	105
1970sbusiest	1,424	10 of 10	142
1980s	1,098	10 of 10	110
1990s	628	10 of 10	63
2000s	432	10 of 10	43
2010s	382	10 of 10	38
2020s	67	6 of 10	11

Across Republic of Ireland · Boys, the 1970s were its busiest decade, averaging 142 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 1982 and 1983, when recorded births fell by 42, from 152 to 110.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Seamus appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

What the record shows

Recorded by 4 registrars between 1964 and 2025, ranked in 62 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #55, first reached in 1966.

It held a top-100 place in 35 years, 33 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 157 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 1977.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 60 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Seamus was ranked #55 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 1966. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Se · #187, 23y
Seamie · #327, 11y
Sean · #1, 63y
Sean Og · #283, 13y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 4 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Killian · #55, 62y
Orlaith · #54, 59y
Pawel · #54, 65y
Ruairi · #54, 60y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1960 and 1969.

Killian · #55, 62y
Todd · #55, 60y
Antony · #56, 47y
Bendik · #56, 58y

Seamus and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,577 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Seamus without appearing here.

Seamus moved ahead of

Murray
In 2016 they stood at #1319 and #1271 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2017 that had become #1021 and #2324.
Graham
In 2021 they stood at #1448 and #1391 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2022 that had become #1143 and #2165.
Gary
In 2021 they stood at #1448 and #1329 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2022 that had become #1143 and #2018.
Wayne
In 2016 they stood at #1319 and #1234 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2017 that had become #1021 and #1546.

Moved ahead of Seamus

Ronny
In 2024 they stood at #981 and #1460 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2025 that had become #1538 and #1093.
Rune
In 2024 they stood at #981 and #1460 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2025 that had become #1538 and #1124.
Mathias
In 2015 they stood at #927 and #1046 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2016 that had become #1319 and #928.
Shea
In 2024 they stood at #981 and #1322 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2025 that had become #1538 and #1197.

Moved the opposite way to Seamus

Alexander
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Seamus went from #60 to #402 while Alexander went from #116 to #55.
Benjamin
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Seamus went from #60 to #402 while Benjamin went from #139 to #83.
Conor
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Seamus went from #60 to #402 while Conor went from #56 to #16.
Liam
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Seamus went from #60 to #402 while Liam went from #54 to #7.

Moved the same way as Seamus

Alfred
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Seamus went from #60 to #402 and Alfred from #134 to #286.
Denis
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Seamus went from #60 to #402 and Denis from #21 to #232.
Frank
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Seamus went from #60 to #402 and Frank from #164 to #286.
George
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Seamus went from #60 to #402 and George from #52 to #112.

Meaning & Origin

The Anglicized form of Séamus, the Irish form of James — ultimately from Hebrew Ya'akov via Latin Iacomus.

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Irish, from Hebrew via James

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Other names with a researched meaning and origin →

Where Seamus is officially recorded

4 official registrars have recorded Seamus, between 1964 and 2025. Each registrar publishes for its own population on its own methodology, so the positions below are each one country's own ranking and are not comparable with one another.

Registrar	Recorded	Years	Its own highest position
Republic of Ireland	1964–2025	62	#55 in 1966
England and Wales	1996–2025	30	#470 in 1998
Northern Ireland	1997–2024	28	#108 in 2001
Scotland	2024	1	#352 in 2024

Its high point came 58 years earlier in Republic of Ireland (1966) than in Scotland (2024).

Variants

Séamus · spelling

Similar Names

No similar names recorded yet for this name.

Similarity is a demonstration score — see methodology.

Spelling

Spelling simplicity

Calculated directly from the name's spelling — see Name Characteristics above.

Common alternate spellings: Séamus.

Pronunciation

SHAY-mus/ˈʃeɪ.məs/

Syllables: 2
Ease: easy

VerifiedSource: Behind the Name.Confidence: medium.

Where Seamus Is Recorded

National statistical agencies have recorded Seamus in these places. This shows where the name is used — not where it comes from, and not that it carries particular cultural significance there.

England and WalesNorthern IrelandScotlandRepublic of Ireland

Notable Usage

No safely-sourced notable usage recorded for this name yet.

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

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Seamus

Seamus at a glance

What stands out in Seamus's record

Overview

Popularity

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Seamus across 3 official records

Where the highest position is not the biggest year

Seamus by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Seamus appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Seamus

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Seamus and the names beside it

Seamus moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Seamus

Moved the opposite way to Seamus

Moved the same way as Seamus

Meaning & Origin

Where Seamus is officially recorded

Variants

Similar Names

Spelling

Pronunciation

Where Seamus Is Recorded

Notable Usage

Sibling & Surname Compatibility

Seamus at a glance

What stands out in Seamus's record

Seamus across 3 official records

Where the highest position is not the biggest year

Seamus by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Seamus appears in

What the record shows

Names published alongside Seamus

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Seamus and the names beside it

Seamus moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Seamus

Moved the opposite way to Seamus

Moved the same way as Seamus