How popular is the name Sean?

Sean ranks 40th among boys' names in US records, with 801,028 births since 1925. Over the past decade it accounts for 20,452.

Is Sean a unisex name?

No. Sean is recorded almost entirely as a boys' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.

1990, when 19,111 children were given the name. It has been in use for 100 years and is still recorded as of 2024.

Shawn, Shaun, Seann, Shaune. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.

Boy name#40 of boy names

Pronounced S EY1 AE1 N (ARPABET)

Sean is a boys' name, and first appears in 1925. It has been given to 801,028 children — the 40th most common boys' name on record.

It is falling away, down 69% on the previous decade. Its best single year was 1990, when 19,111 children were given it.

Four other spellings are counted in that total — Shawn, Shaun, Seann and one more — because they are pronounced identically.

199019,111

These spellings sound identical to Sean and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.

Phonetic detail

Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.

Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.

Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.

How popular is the name Sean?: Sean ranks 40th among boys' names in US records, with 801,028 births since 1925. Over the past decade it accounts for 20,452.
Is Sean a unisex name?: No. Sean is recorded almost entirely as a boys' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
When was Sean most popular?: 1990, when 19,111 children were given the name. It has been in use for 100 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
How else is Sean spelled?: Shawn, Shaun, Seann, Shaune. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.