Seamus
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- SHAY-mus
- Origin
- Hebrew
- UK rank, 2025
- #936 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #1,276 for boys
- Style
- Big in Scotland, big in Northern Ireland
Seamus is a boys' name of Hebrew origin, meaning “supplanter”. In 2025 it ranked 936th for boys in the UK (36 babies) and 1,276th for boys in the US (154 babies).
What does Seamus mean?
Hebrew: Irish form of James
“supplanter”
The Irish form of James; the poet Seamus Heaney won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Seamus a girl's or a boy's name?
Seamus is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 36 boys in the UK and 154 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Seamus in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- 936th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 36 about 1 in 8,300 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 1% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 36 boys in the UK were named Seamus, making it the 936th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 960th. Its busiest year was 2001, with 65 boys.
2025 had fewer boys named Seamus than any year since 2020.
Half of all the boys named Seamus in the UK since 1996 were born between 2002 and 2017. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.
Among boys in 2025, it was 1,537th in England and Wales, 400th in Scotland and 185th in Northern Ireland.
Seamus in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 36 | #936 |
| 2024 | 49 | #769 |
| 2023 | 39 | #892 |
| 2022 | 41 | #848 |
| 2021 | 37 | #909 |
| 2020 | 33 | #960 |
| 2019 | 39 | #859 |
| 2018 | 53 | #720 |
| 2017 | 41 | #860 |
| 2016 | 35 | #956 |
| 2015 | 46 | #776 |
| 2014 | 44 | #791 |
| 2013 | 47 | #758 |
| 2012 | 43 | #815 |
| 2011 | 36 | #892 |
| 2010 | 46 | #739 |
| 2009 | 45 | #736 |
| 2008 | 55 | #633 |
| 2007 | 59 | #577 |
| 2006 | 58 | #564 |
| 2005 | 59 | #523 |
| 2004 | 56 | #512 |
| 2003 | 62 | #453 |
| 2002 | 55 | #450 |
| 2001 | 65 | #406 |
| 2000 | 48 | #480 |
| 1999 | 59 | #417 |
| 1998 | 56 | #432 |
| 1997 | 48 | #457 |
| 1996 | 35 | #543 |
How popular is Seamus in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 1,276th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 154 about 1 in 11,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 22% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 154 boys in the US were named Seamus, making it the 1,276th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,194th. Its busiest year was 2008, with 298 boys. It first appears in the records in 1957.
Half of all the boys named Seamus in the US since 1880 were born between 1998 and 2014, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 169 boys in the US were given Seamus or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,088, up from #1,276 for this spelling alone.
Seamus in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 154 | #1,276 |
| 2024 | 125 | #1,448 |
| 2023 | 137 | #1,365 |
| 2022 | 143 | #1,314 |
| 2021 | 158 | #1,218 |
| 2020 | 161 | #1,194 |
| 2019 | 197 | #1,044 |
| 2018 | 178 | #1,101 |
| 2017 | 211 | #977 |
| 2016 | 218 | #952 |
| 2015 | 221 | #946 |
| 2014 | 239 | #898 |
| 2013 | 247 | #862 |
| 2012 | 259 | #838 |
| 2011 | 258 | #836 |
| 2010 | 240 | #874 |
| 2009 | 276 | #806 |
| 2008 | 298 | #753 |
| 2007 | 296 | #751 |
| 2006 | 244 | #832 |
| 2005 | 254 | #776 |
| 2004 | 233 | #778 |
| 2003 | 248 | #734 |
| 2002 | 215 | #801 |
| 2001 | 188 | #851 |
| 2000 | 194 | #822 |
| 1999 | 191 | #797 |
| 1998 | 164 | #887 |
| 1997 | 164 | #857 |
| 1996 | 157 | #872 |
| 1995 | 130 | #967 |
| 1994 | 111 | #1,055 |
| 1993 | 88 | #1,192 |
| 1992 | 83 | #1,233 |
| 1991 | 78 | #1,258 |
| 1990 | 75 | #1,273 |
| 1989 | 58 | #1,428 |
| 1988 | 55 | #1,400 |
| 1987 | 50 | #1,437 |
| 1986 | 44 | #1,510 |
| 1985 | 54 | #1,303 |
| 1984 | 47 | #1,381 |
| 1983 | 31 | #1,786 |
| 1982 | 49 | #1,341 |
| 1981 | 59 | #1,198 |
| 1980 | 50 | #1,324 |
| 1979 | 41 | #1,464 |
| 1978 | 47 | #1,326 |
| 1977 | 47 | #1,312 |
| 1976 | 32 | #1,645 |
| 1975 | 36 | #1,478 |
| 1974 | 34 | #1,501 |
| 1973 | 28 | #1,653 |
| 1972 | 26 | #1,721 |
| 1971 | 24 | #1,822 |
| 1970 | 17 | #2,212 |
| 1969 | 14 | #2,307 |
| 1968 | 16 | #2,029 |
| 1967 | 19 | #1,808 |
| 1966 | 14 | #2,131 |
| 1965 | 18 | #1,855 |
| 1964 | 12 | #2,408 |
| 1963 | 6 | #3,645 |
| 1962 | 8 | #3,039 |
| 1961 | 6 | #3,650 |
| 1960 | 9 | #2,869 |
| 1959 | 10 | #2,662 |
| 1958 | 6 | #3,557 |
| 1957 | 9 | #2,820 |
Names like Seamus
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Syed, Marcus, Ethan, Luca, Musa, Hamza, Ibrahim, Liam, Joshua, Lucas, Adam, Nathan
Other spellings of Seamus
Names related to Seamus
More Hebrew names
Noah, Isabella, Elijah, James, Jack, Mia, Ava, Jude, Ezra, Benjamin, Isaac, Jacob, Daniel, Samuel, Elias, Mateo
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Seamus: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/seamus, updated 20 October 2026.