Sean
/ʃɔːn/
noun
Origin
Hebrew
Yohanan — Yahweh is gracious
Overview
Meaning Now
- A masculine given name of Irish origin.
Literal older meaning
God is gracious
Language path
Hebrew → Old Irish → Middle Irish → Irish
Earliest form
Seán
Earliest period
16th century
Journey
The name Sean is the Irish form of John. It became popular in Ireland as a means of distinguishing local Gaelic speakers from the Anglo-Norman population, with the 'S' sound representing a phonetic adaptation of the Norman-French 'Jean'.
Evolution
- Biblical Hebrew
Yohanan
“God is gracious”
Original form from which John is derived.
- Latin
Ioannes
“God is gracious”
The form through which the name entered Western European languages.
- Old Irish
Eóin
“John”
Early Irish adaptation of Ioannes.
- Middle Irish
Seán
“John”
The s- prefix reflects the Norman-French influence on Irish naming conventions.
Connections
Word parts
Seán
root
John
Related across languages
French
Jean
John
English
John
John
Scottish Gaelic
Iain
John
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Related to Sean
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.