Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in

Irish English Hiberno-English (from Latin language, Latin ''Hibernia'': "Ireland"), and in ga, Béarla na hÉireann. or Irish English, also formerly Anglo-Irish, is the set of English dialects native to the island of Ireland (including both the Repub ...

, is a male

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a ...

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the

Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew (, or , ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite branch of Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Israel, roughly west of t ...

name ''

Yohanan Yohanan, Yochanan and Johanan are various transliterations to the Latin alphabet of the Hebrew male given name ('), a shortened form of ('), meaning " YHWH is gracious". The name is ancient, recorded as the name of Johanan, high priest of th ...

'' (), Seán (

anglicized Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influenc ...

as ''

Shaun Shaun is an anglicized spelling of the Irish name Seán. Alternative spellings include Shawn, Sean and Shawne. Notable persons with the given name include: People *Shaun (musician) (born 1990), South Korean musician *Shaun (YouTuber), British vi ...

Shawn Shawn may refer to: *Shawn (given name) *Shawn (surname) See also * Sean * Shaun Shaun is an anglicized spelling of the Irish name Seán. Alternative spellings include Shawn, Sean and Shawne. Notable persons with the given name include: Peo ...

/ Shon'') and Séan (

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

variant; anglicized ''Shane/Shayne''), rendered ''

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

'' in English and Johannes/Johann/Johan in other

Germanic languages The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania and Southern Africa. The most widely spoken Germanic language, ...

. The

Norman French Norman or Norman French (, french: Normand, Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a Romance language which can be classified as one of the Oïl languages along with French, Picard and Walloon. The name "Norman French" is sometimes used to descri ...

''Jehan'' (see ''

Jean Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

'') is another version. For notable people named Sean, refer to

List of people named Sean Sean is common given name in Ireland and Scotland. Alternate spellings include Shawn and Shaun. Notable people with the name include: * Sean (cartoonist) (born John Klamik; 1935–2005), American cartoonist A–C *Sean Astin (born 1971), Ameri ...

Origin

The name was adopted into the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

most likely from ''Jean'', the French variant of the Hebrew name ''Yohanan''. As Gaelic has no letter (derived from ; English also lacked until the late 17th Century, with ''John'' previously been spelt ''Iohn'') so it is substituted by , as was the normal Gaelic practice for adapting Biblical names that contain in other languages (''Sine''/''Siobhàn'' for ''Joan/Jane/Anne/Anna''; ''Seonaid''/''Sinéad'' for ''Janet''; ''Seumas''/''Séamus'' for ''James''; ''Seosamh''/''Seòsaidh'' for ''Joseph'', etc.). In 1066, the Norman duke,

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

conquered England, where the Norman French name Jahan/Johan (, ) came to be pronounced ''Jean'', and spelled

. The Norman from the Welsh Marches, with the Norman King of England's mandate invaded parts of Leinster and Munster in the 1170s. The

nobility in these areas were replaced by Norman nobles, some of whom bore the Norman French name Johan or the

anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

name John. The Irish adapted the name to their own pronunciation and spelling, producing the name Seán (or Seathan). Sean is commonly pronounced (Irish: ''Seán'' ; ( Ulster dialect: ) or (Irish: , with fada on , not , thus leading to the variant

Shane Shane may refer to: People * Shane (actress) (born 1969), American pornographic actress * Shane (New Zealand singer) (born 1946) * iamnotshane (born 1995), formerly known as Shane, American singer * Shane (name), a masculine given name and a su ...

.) The name was once the common equivalent of John in Gaelic-speaking areas of Scotland, but has been supplanted by a vulgarization of its address form: ''Iain'' or ''Ian''. When addressing someone named Seán in

, it becomes ''a Sheáin'' , and in Scotland was generally adapted into Scots and

Highland English Highland English ( sco, Hieland Inglis) is the variety of Scottish English spoken by many in the Scottish Highlands and the Hebrides. It is more strongly influenced by Gaelic than are other forms of Scottish English. Phonology *The '' svarabhak ...

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 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...

and the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and No ...

having long been instructed not to register Gaelic names in birth or baptismal registrations.

In other languages

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

: Sean, Seon, Shane, Shayne, Shaine, Shon, Shaun, Shawn, Seann, Shaan * cy, italics=no, Sion, Shôn *

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

and Scots: Eathain, Eoin, Iain, Ian * ko, 션, , , * ja, ショーン * zh, 肖恩, * ar, شان * he, שון

References

External links

Chinese translation of Sean
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sean Given names English-language masculine given names English masculine given names Irish-language masculine given names