Seamus
Seamus is an Irish masculine name derived from Old Irish Sémús, meaning "supplanter".
Name Census estimates that about 7,507 living Americans carry the first name Seamus. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Seamus today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Seamus births was 2008 (298 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Seamus. 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.
People living today
7.5K
~ 1 in 45,658 Americans
Peak year
2008
298 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,450
Tracked since 1957
Popularity
Seamus: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Seamus from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 2,446 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Seamus 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 Seamus during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Seamus' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 30 states and territories. New York, Massachusetts, California recorded the most babies named Seamus, while Montana, Georgia, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 175 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Seamus
The name Seamus is a traditional Irish masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name Séamas, which is the Irish version of the name James. The name Séamas itself originated from the Late Latin name Iacomus, which in turn came from the Hebrew name Ya'aqov, meaning "supplanter" or "one who follows".
The name Seamus has been prevalent in Ireland for centuries and was particularly popular among Irish Catholics. Its earliest recorded use dates back to the 12th century, when it appeared in various medieval Irish manuscripts and annals.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Seamus was Seamus Ó Cilín, an Irish poet and historian who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He is best known for his work "Eochair-Sgiath an Aifrinn" (The Mass Key), a treatise on the celebration of the Mass.
Another notable bearer of the name was Seamus Heaney, the renowned Irish poet, playwright, and academic who lived from 1939 to 2013. Heaney was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995 for his "works of lyric beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles and the living past".
In the realm of Irish politics, Seamus Mallon, who lived from 1936 to 2020, was a prominent figure. He served as the Deputy Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and played a crucial role in the Northern Ireland peace process, including the Good Friday Agreement.
Seamus Deane, born in 1940, is an Irish writer, critic, and academic. He is best known for his novels "Reading in the Dark" and "The Aunt's Story", which explore themes of Irish identity and the legacy of the Troubles.
Another important figure was Seamus Costello, an Irish republican paramilitary and founding member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). He lived from 1939 to 1977 and played a significant role in the early stages of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Seamus, a name deeply rooted in Irish culture and tradition.
People
Seamus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Seamus 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
Seamus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Seamus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7,507 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Seamus 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 45,658 US residents.
Is Seamus a common name?
We classify Seamus as "Rare". It ranks above 97.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7,656 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Seamus most popular?
The single biggest year for Seamus was 2008, when 298 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Seamus is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Seamus a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Seamus 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.
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.