Thoughts on Sean?

[DucklingSpring]

Don’t really have much to say here other than if it would be odd for us to use this name as we do not come from an Irish background. What are people’s general opinions on the name? Thanks

Love it

@SeanCailleach I've never ever heard anyone pronounce it Shan

Well she is correct, the á in Seán is what makes an aw sound. Sean without a fada is pronounced shan, which is the word for old.

Now many people spell it Sean of course, just as many people spell Orla without a fada (which literally means vomit). Prob won't impact his life just as it won't impact all the Orlas out there.

@SeanCailleach

If I were to use it outside of Ireland I would go for Shaun. Sean is pronounced shan and means "old". Seán is a lovely classic name.

No it's not?? Not if it's correctly spelt as Seán, anyway.

Seán or Sèan is the Irish translation of English John...

Is your son going to be 40 nothing wrong with the name Sean, it just isn't a baby name, kind of like Ian, Phil etc

Like others have said, Sean - is the Irish version of John, pronounced Shan. I'm Irish and my brother is Sean. I like it as a name. It's not easy to shorten it which is a good thing

I am Irish so know many Seans but none of them are under 35.

Sean is nice. I disagree that it’s dated - it’s similar to Sion - there are lots of little Sions in Wales!

I don't mean the name means "old". And the spelling "Sean" without an accent is so widely recognised as a name. The name is usually said to be a Gaelic version of John. Sometimes people say it means "beautiful, shining", but I don't know why.

"Séan" with the accent on the é, is pronounced "shane". It is a word in Irish that means a lucky charm, or it can be another word for an oak tree (there are several words for oak).

Absolutely love it.

@Sundaypolodog

Like others have said, Sean - is the Irish version of John, pronounced Shan. I'm Irish and my brother is Sean. I like it as a name. It's not easy to shorten it which is a good thing

It is not pronounced Shan.

Ok, shon is how my brothers name is pronounced in my family

As a teacher, a boy in m class insisted his name was Sean rhyming with dean.

I love it, and know loads of all ages. But I'm in Ireland so that's not surprising.

It's ok. John is coming back so I guess sean might too

I like it. My dad is Sean (although his birth certificate name is John). He’s Irish. I’d automatically assume Irish heritage with the spelling Sean.

I prefer Shane. My dd knows brothers called Cian and Shane.
The only person I ever heard saying Shan was from Derry/Londonderry.

In Ulster Seán would mostly be Shahn, although fair enough Derry it would be close to rhyming with ran.

Any Sean I know is pronounce Shaun

Yes, but to be pronounced ‘Shawn’, it needs to have a síne fada on the ‘a’, so Seán. Otherwise, without the fada, it’s pronounced ‘Shan’ and isn’t a name but the word for ‘old’.

It’s grand, a safe classic.

Séan or Sèan is the Irish translation of English John.

What the fuck is Sèan?

I'm in England - DC go to a Catholic school and there seems to be an awful lot of boys called Sean. Pronounced Shawn.
I haven't met any other Sean's recently, so I'm always surprised there are so many Sean's in one school.

@LynetteScavo

I'm in England - DC go to a Catholic school and there seems to be an awful lot of boys called Sean. Pronounced Shawn. I haven't met any other Sean's recently, so I'm always surprised there are so many Sean's in one school.

It's not all that surprising, surely? There are likely to be a large proportion of families of Irish descent attending a Catholic school in school, and Seán would have been a top ten or top twenty name in Ireland for most of the 20thc -- though it's outside the top 100 these days. It's a safe, maybe slightly dated classic, like Edward or Philip.

Absolutely love it, I suggested it for my son but was shot down 😞

Bit dated and chavvy.