Seamas
An Irish masculine name derived from the name James, meaning "supplanter" or "replacer".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Seamas. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Seamas today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Seamas births was 2003 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Seamas. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Seamas with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Seamas. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
2003
5 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2005 SSA rank
#13,020
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Seamas: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Seamas by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Seamas during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 10 | 0 | 10 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Seamas
The given name Seamas is derived from the Irish Gaelic language and has its origins in early medieval Ireland. It is the Irish form of the name James, which itself is derived from the Hebrew name Jacob. The name Jacob is believed to have originated from the Hebrew word "ya'aqov," meaning "supplanter" or "one who follows."
In the early days of Christianity, the name James gained popularity due to its association with two of Jesus Christ's apostles, James the Greater and James the Lesser. This connection to biblical figures helped the name spread across Europe and eventually to Ireland, where it took on the form Seamas.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Seamas can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. The Annals mention a notable figure named Seamas mac Domhnaill, who lived in the 14th century and was a member of the powerful O'Donnell clan in Ulster.
Throughout Irish history, several notable individuals bore the name Seamas. Seamas Dall (James the Blind), who lived in the 17th century, was a renowned Irish harper and poet. His compositions played a significant role in preserving Irish cultural traditions during a time of English colonization.
Another prominent figure was Seamas Ó Muirí (1700-1782), a renowned Irish language scholar and lexicographer who compiled one of the earliest comprehensive dictionaries of the Irish language.
In the 19th century, Seamas Ó Conaill (1858-1929) was a prominent Irish nationalist and language revivalist. He played a crucial role in the Gaelic cultural revival movement and was a founding member of the Gaelic League, an organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the Irish language.
During the 20th century, Seamas Ó Riada (1938-1971) was a celebrated Irish composer and musician who helped popularize traditional Irish music and made significant contributions to the modern interpretation of Irish folk music.
While the name Seamas has deep roots in Irish history and culture, it has also been adopted and used in various forms across different languages and cultures, reflecting the widespread influence of the name James and its Hebrew origins.
People
Seamas + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Seamas as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Seamas: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Seamas?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Seamas going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Seamas a common name?
We classify Seamas as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Seamas most popular?
The single biggest year for Seamas was 2003, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Seamas is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Seamas in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Seamas a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Seamas in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Seamas still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Seamas in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Seamas can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Seamas?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.