Sean
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Irish. 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.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Sean (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Sean has been falling over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2006. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 16 |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | 14 |
| 2001 | 20 |
| 2002 | 15 |
| 2003 | 11 |
| 2004 | 16 |
| 2005 | 10 |
| 2006 | 25 |
| 2007 | 18 |
| 2008 | 17 |
| 2009 | 14 |
| 2010 | 12 |
| 2011 | 6 |
| 2012 | 10 |
| 2013 | 5 |
| 2014 | 7 |
| 2015 | 7 |
| 2016 | 5 |
| 2017 | 6 |
| 2018 | 3 |
| 2019 | 4 |
| 2020 | 2 |
| 2021 | 3 |
| 2022 | – |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 285 |
| 2000 | 304 |
| 2001 | 324 |
| 2002 | 337 |
| 2003 | 360 |
| 2004 | 384 |
| 2005 | 392 |
| 2006 | 426 |
| 2007 | 457 |
| 2008 | 487 |
| 2009 | 521 |
| 2010 | 546 |
| 2011 | 564 |
| 2012 | 581 |
| 2013 | 587 |
| 2014 | 594 |
| 2015 | 604 |
| 2016 | 629 |
| 2017 | 654 |
| 2018 | 666 |
| 2019 | 675 |
| 2020 | 690 |
Sean in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Sean.Hi! My name is Sean.
- Sean har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Sean has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Jag ska fika med Sean i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Sean this afternoon.
- Seans mamma är lärare.Sean's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Seans mamma is Sean's mum.
More names
Questions about Sean
How do you pronounce Sean in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Sean in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Sean mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Irish. 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.
How popular is Sean in Sweden?
Fewer than two babies of either sex were named Sean in 2022. In 2020, 690 people in Sweden had Sean as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling lately and peaked in 2006 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.