Sean
Hebrew origin) | |
Other names | |
---|---|
Variant form(s) | Seaghán, Seón, Shaun, Shawn, Seann, Seaghán, Seathan, Shaine, Shayne, Shane, Shon, Shan |
Related names | Eoin, John |
Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in
In the
For notable people named Sean, refer to List of people named Sean.
Origin
The name was adopted into the
.)The name was once the common equivalent of John in Ireland and Gaelic-speaking areas of Scotland, but has been supplanted by a vulgarization of its address form: Iain or Ian.[5] When addressing someone named Seán in Irish, it becomes a Sheáin [ə ˈçaːn̠ʲ], and in Scotland was generally adapted into Scots and Highland English as Eathain, Eoin, Iain, and Ian (John has traditionally been more commonly used in the Scots-speaking Lowlands than any form of Seán). Even in Highland areas where Gaelic is still spoken, these anglicisations are now more common than Seán or Seathan, undoubtedly due in part to registrars in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland having long been instructed not to register Irish or Gaelic names in birth or baptismal registrations.[6]
North American usage
Some Irish bearers of the name, such as playwright
In other languages
- English: Sean, Seon, Shane, Shayne, Shaine, Shon, Shaun, Shawn, Seann, Shaan
- Welsh: Sion, Shôn
- Scottish Gaelic, Highland English and Scots: Eathain, Eoin, Iain, Ian
- Korean: 션, 숀, 셔은, 쇼은
- Japanese: ショーン
- Chinese: 肖恩, 尚恩
- Arabic: شان
- Hebrew: שון
See also
References
- ^ a b Caollaí, Éanna Ó. "If your name is Timothy or Pat you're grand, but if it's Seán or Róisín you don't exist". The Irish Times. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ Ó Séaghdha, Darach (3 March 2022). "The Irish For: The rise of Rían - the latest baby names in Ireland". thejournal.ie. The Journal. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "Meaning of Sean - What does the Name Sean mean?". Babynamesocean.com. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
- ^ "Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla (Ó Dónaill): séan". Teanglann. Teanglann.ie. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ISBN 1871901286.
- ^ "The Prohibition of Gaelic Names". www.auchindrain.org.uk. Auchindrain Township, Auchindrain, Inveraray, Argyll, PA32, 8WD. 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
The practice of the law and official systems refusing to recognise the existence of Gaelic went back two centuries. It was rooted in a view that Gaelic was a barbaric language, and that if the Gaels were to become civilised they had to learn and use English instead. We don't yet know exactly when the law was changed to allow Gaelic names, but it was certainly well into the 1960s, possibly even later.
- ^ Evans, Cleveland Kent (26 February 2024). "Cleveland Evans: Sean Has Roots in Irish Ancestry". omaha.com. Omaha World Herald. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ISBN 0-19-861060-2.