Sean

See also: Appendix:Variations of "sean"

English

Alternative forms

• Shaun, Shawn, Shohn

Etymology

Anglicised form of Irish Seán, from Old French Jehan, from Latin Johannes, variant of Ioannes, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yōḥānān, literally “God is gracious”).

Doublet of John, Jack, Johan, Johann, Johannes, Jean, Ian, Evan, Ivan, Shaun, Shane, and Giovanni.

Pronunciation

• enPR: shôn, IPA^(key): /ʃɔːn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔːn
• Homophones: shorn (non-rhotic, horse–hoarse merger); Sian (female given name, cot–caught merger, father-bother merger)

Proper noun

Sean (plural Seans)

1. A male given name from Irish.
   • 1996, Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes, Harper Collins Publishers., →ISBN, page 203:

     They sit by the fire smoking and talking about names. Mam says she likes the names Kevin and Sean but Bridey says, Ah no, there's too many of them in Limerick. Jesus, Angela, if you stuck your head out of the door and called, Kevin or Sean, come in for your tea, you'd have half o' Limerick running to your door.

   • 2023 September 25, Katie Bo Lillis, Oren Liebermann, Haley Britzky, “Mark Milley leaves a controversial legacy as America’s top general”, in CNN‎^[1], archived from the original on 10 February 2025:

     In some ways, it’s a pragmatic practice: Fox anchors such as Sean Hannity and, at one point, Tucker Carlson routinely attack Milley – and during the Trump years, there was also a reasonable expectation that the president would be talking to the hosts of those shows.

   • 2024 December 14, Elizabeth Wagmeister, “Jay-Z says inconsistencies in rape accuser’s story proves her attorney was looking for ‘money and fame’”, in CNN‎^[2], archived from the original on 14 May 2025:

     Jay-Z is doubling down on his denial that he ever raped a teenage girl alongside Sean “Diddy” Combs, saying that newly revealed inconsistencies in her story prove that her account is not credible.

   • 2025 February 8, Brenna Cooper, “Medical examiner reveals worst death she has seen is the case of man who was thrown down a manhole into boiling water”, in LADBible‎^[3], archived from the original on 22 March 2025:

     But if you really insist she'll retell the unfortunate case of a man named Sean Doyle.

Related terms

• Evan
• Ian
• Ivan
• Jon
• Shane
• Shaun
• Shawn

feminine equivalents of Sean

• Chavonne
• Seana
• Shauna
• Shavonne
• Shawna
• Sheena
• Síne

Translations

a male given name

• Catalan: Joan (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 肖恩 (zh) (Xiāoēn)

• Greek: Γιάννης (el) m (Giánnis), Σον (el) (Son) (transliteration from English)
• Hebrew: שׁוֹן (shon)
• Hindi: शॉन m (śŏn)
• Maltese: Seaninu
• Russian: Шон (ru) m (Šon)
• Spanish: Juan (es)

See also

• Sian

Anagrams

• ENSA, Esan, NAEs, NESA, Nase, Sena, eans, nase, sane

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from English Sean, from Irish Seán.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈʃan/ [ˈʃan̪]
  • IPA^(key): (no palatal assimilation) /ˈsjan/ [ˈsjan̪]
• Rhymes: -an
• Syllabification: Sean

Proper noun

Sean (Baybayin spelling ᜐ᜔ᜌᜈ᜔)

1. a male given name from English [in turn from Irish]