boy's name
Seamus
SHAY-mus
- Origin Irish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 15,133
Ireland
#147
as Séamus, 2025
Seamus is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "supplanter," the Irish form of James, and it was used in Britain as a slur for an Irishman. It ranks 147th in Ireland and 1,277th in the United States.
- Seamus is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in 2008, when 298 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 21,529 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1957.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Seamus over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1950s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 25 |
| 1960s | 122 |
| 1970s | 332 |
| 1980s | 497 |
| 1990s | 1,241 |
| 2000s | 2,446 |
| 2010s | 2,268 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 878 |
What Seamus means
Seamus means supplanter, or holder of the heel. Genesis supplies both readings directly: the newborn Jacob grips his twin's heel, and he later takes the birthright that belonged to his brother.
Where Seamus comes from
Seamus anglicizes the Irish Séamus, which came into Irish from the Norman French James rather than from Latin — the same route that gave Seán from Jehan. Behind it is the Late Latin Iacomus and the Hebrew Ya'aqov. Scotland took the same name and produced Hamish, from the vocative Sheumais, which is why Ireland says Seamus and Scotland says Hamish for one name. In twentieth-century Britain Seamus was used, like Paddy, as a generic and often hostile label for an Irishman, particularly during the Troubles — a history the name has largely outrun but which is part of why it reads differently in Ireland than in England. Seamus Heaney, Nobel laureate in 1995, is the name's most consequential modern bearer.
Seamus in use
Seamus ranks 147th in Ireland with 45 births in 2025 and 1,277th in the United States with 154 births, and it is falling in our data from a peak in 2008. Our records carry it from 1957. It appears in every English-speaking market we hold, and the accented Séamus is counted separately in Irish records.
How popular is Seamus?
In 2025, Seamus was given to 154 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Seamus is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Seamus is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Séamus | Séamus is Seamus written with a fada, used in Ireland, where it ranks #147. | 267 |
Names that peaked alongside Seamus
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Seamus also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Seamus over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Seamus
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Seamus in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Seamus
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Seamus — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Seamus
What does the name Seamus mean?
Seamus means "supplanter," inherited from James and the Hebrew Ya'aqov.
Is Seamus the Irish for James?
Yes, arrived at through Norman French rather than Latin — the same route that gave Seán from Jehan.
Why do Ireland and Scotland say it differently?
Scotland built Hamish from the vocative of Seumas, the form used when addressing someone. Ireland kept the naming form.
How popular is Seamus?
147th in Ireland and 1,277th in the United States.
Is Seamus a girl's or a boy's name?
Seamus is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Seamus?
Seamus has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Seamus?
Seamus is usually shortened to Séimí.
Is Seamus a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Seamus currently ranks #147 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.