Sheamus
Masculine · “Hebrew Yaakov”
Jacobite comes from Jacobus, the Latin for James. The movement that fought for a deposed king took its name from his name in Latin, which is why the word for it looks nothing like the word James.
How old is the name Sheamus?
Sheamus first appears in US birth records in 1981 — 44 years ago. The typical Sheamus alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 500 people named Sheamus are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Sheamus most popular?
Sheamus peaked in 2014, reaching #3090 nationally. Today it ranks #10695, 7,605 places below that high. See the whole 2014 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Yaakov to Sheamus
The story of Sheamus
James and Jacob are the same name. Latin had Iacobus for the patriarch and the apostles alike, a variant Iacomus developed in late Latin, and the two forms went to different countries: Iacomus gave Italian Giacomo, French Jacques and English James, while Iacobus gave Jacob directly. English is unusual in carrying both and treating them as separate names. The Latin form also gave the political label: supporters of James II after 1688 were Jacobites, from Jacobus, and the risings of 1715 and 1745 are named for a man whose English name never appears in the word. The Irish Seamus comes through the same channel. This particular spelling's peak in 2014 follows the visibility of an Irish professional wrestler who used it.
Meaningscholars disagree
Hebrew Yaakov, of disputed meaning
Seamus is the Irish form of James, from Latin Iacomus, a variant of Iacobus, from Hebrew Yaakov, whose meaning is disputed between heel-holder and supplanter, both of which are wordplay supplied by the Genesis narrative. Sheamus is a phonetic English respelling; its peak is 2014.
How the name formed
- Yaakov
- Iacomus
- Seamus
- Sheamus
Related forms: Seamus · James · Seumas
Pronouncing Sheamus
SHAY-mus
Two syllables, stress on the first. Seamus and Sheamus are homophones; the Irish spelling carries an accent on the e.
Nicknames for Sheamus
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1981
- Most boys named
- 201436 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3090reached in 2014
- Change vs 2024
- −14.3%6 in 2025, from 7
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Sheamus in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Seamus in Irish — spelling variant
- James in English — same name
- Seumas in Scottish Gaelic — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: Pennsylvania.
Sheamuss among us
people named Sheamus are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 284,679 born in 2025 was named Sheamus
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Aarion test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Sheamus's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Aarion climbed just as high around 1998, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Aarion's path sketches the road Sheamus is walking now.
Sheamus sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Sheamus beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Sheamus in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Shay works as a short form and is a current name.
- James is available as the English equivalent.
- Two syllables with a firm opening.
- Seamus is the standard Irish spelling.
- The phonetic respelling reads as an Americanism to Irish speakers.
- The 2014 peak dates this form.
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Sheamus
Masculine · #10695 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Sheamuss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Sheamus are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Sheamus in 2025?
- Sheamus ranks #10695 among US boy names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Sheamus?
- About 1 in every 284,679 US boys born in 2025 was named Sheamus — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Sheamus with classmates?
- Sheamus will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Sheamus
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
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Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Sheamus? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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