Sean
Meaning of Sean
Sean sails in like a Celtic galleon draped in green and gold, then twirls across the plaza with a cheerful “¡Olé!”—a perfect blend of Emerald Isle mist and Latin sunshine. Born from the Irish Gaelic Seán, cousin to John, he carries the age-old meaning “God is gracious,” a little blessing tucked into four brisk letters. Some ears hear him as “shawn,” others as the soft Gaelic “shan,” but either way he lands light, like a pennywhistle riff. Story lovers picture legendary High Kings; movie buffs see suave secret agents (thank you, Connery); music fans crank up reggae beats with Sean Paul; sports aficionados cheer Sean O’Malley in the octagon. In the U.S., his popularity rode a roaring wave through the ’80s and ’90s—top-40 hot, salsa-dancing across birth certificates—before settling into today’s comfy middle ranks, still chosen hundreds of times a year. Short, friendly, easy to spell, Sean is the guy who remembers your birthday and buys the first round of horchata. He’s a name that feels as timeless as a harp tune and as lively as a mariachi trumpet—always ready for the next adventure.
Pronunciation
Irish Gaelic
- Pronunced as shan (/hɑn/)
American English
- Pronunced as shawn (/ʃɔn/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Sean
| Sean Patrick Hannity is an American conservative TV and radio host and writer, known for The Sean Hannity Show, his Fox News program, and earlier co-hosting Hannity and Colmes. |
| Sir Sean Connery was a Scottish actor who first brought James Bond to the screen, starring in seven films from 1962 to 1983 including Dr. No and Never Say Never Again. |
| Sean Combs, known as Diddy, is an American rapper, producer, and record executive who founded Bad Boy Records and helped launch Notorious BIG, Mary J Blige, and Usher. |
| Sean Penn is an American actor and director known for intense leading roles, twice an Oscar winner with a Golden Globe, a SAG Award, BAFTA, Emmy, and Grammy nominations, and an Honorary Cesar in 2015. |
| English actor Sean Bean, a RADA graduate who debuted in Romeo and Juliet in 1983, gained mainstream fame as Richard Sharpe in the ITV series Sharpe. |
| Sean Parker is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as cofounder of Napster and the first president of Facebook who also launched Plaxo Causes Airtime and Brigade and founded the Parker Foundation. |
| Jamaican dancehall rapper and singer Sean Paul rose to global fame with his 2002 album Dutty Rock after his 2000 debut, scoring US number ones with Get Busy and Temperature from The Trinity in 2005. |
| Sean Lennon - Sean Taro Ono Lennon is an American and British musician, songwriter, and producer, son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, known for bands like The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger and the Claypool Lennon Delirium and for solo albums including Into the Sun, Friendly Fire, and Asterisms. |
| Sean Astin is an American actor best known as Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings, with notable roles in The Goonies, Rudy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Stranger Things. |
| Sean Baker is an American filmmaker and co creator of Greg the Bunny, known for empathetic independent films about marginalized communities, including Tangerine and The Florida Project. |
| Sean M. Carroll - Sean Carroll is an American theoretical physicist and science popularizer, the Homewood Professor of Natural Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University, known for work in quantum mechanics, cosmology, and public advocacy of naturalism. |
| Sean Casey, the Mayor, is a former MLB All Star first baseman turned Yankees hitting coach, MLB Network broadcaster, and podcast host. |
| Sean Kingston is a Jamaican American singer born in Miami and raised in Jamaica who broke out in 2007 with the Billboard Hot 100 number one Beautiful Girls and later scored hits like Take You There and Fire Burning before a decline in chart success. |
| Mary Sean Young is an American actress best known for science fiction films, with roles spanning many genres. |
| Sean May is an American former professional basketball player and current North Carolina assistant coach who was a 2002 McDonalds All American and helped lead North Carolina to the 2005 NCAA championship. |
