Irish Baby Name · Boy

Séamus

Pronounced: SHAY-məs

Meaning: Supplanter (Hebrew origin)

About the name

Origin
Irish
English version
James, Seamus, Hamish
Variants
Séamas
Stronghold region
All-Ireland

Overview

The Irish form of James, naturalised since the medieval period; borne by King Séamus II (James II) of England, Scotland and Ireland, and by countless Irishmen since. Famous bearer: poet Séamus Heaney.

The story behind Séamus

Brought into Irish via the Norman French Jacme; thoroughly absorbed and one of the commonest Irish boys' names.

Mythology & legend

Non-mythological; Gaelic form of James.

Did you know?

Séamus Heaney won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995.

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