Shean
An Old Irish masculine name meaning "old" or "ancient".
Name Census estimates that about 394 living Americans carry the first name Shean. It is a predominantly male name (98.6% of registrations). The average person named Shean today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shean births was 1970 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shean. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
394
~ 1 in 869,935 Americans
Peak year
1970
25 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2009 SSA rank
#6,881
Tracked since 1964
Census
Shean in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 680 people with the first name Shean, which placed it at #16,535 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#16,535
National first-name rank
People counted
680
680 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
52.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shean
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shean is White at 52.8%. The next largest groups are Black (26.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Shean described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Shean at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.8% · 359
- Black or African American26.8% · 182
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.6% · 72
- Hispanic or Latino4.9% · 33
- Two or more races4.3% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Shean
Shean leans heavily male at 98.6% of total registrations, but 6 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Shean as a male name
- Ranked #14,173 in 2009
- 5 male births in 2009
- Peak: 1970 (25 births)
Shean as a female name
- Ranked #6,881 in 1968
- 6 female births in 1968
- Peak: 1968 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shean leans strongly male. 625 people counted with this name were male (93.0%), compared with 47 female bearers (7.0%).
Popularity
Shean: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shean from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 150 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shean by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Shean during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sheans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shean
The name Shean has its origins in the Irish language, deriving from the Gaelic word "Seán," which is a variation of the name John. This name traces its roots back to the Hebrew name "Yohanan," meaning "Yahweh is gracious" or "God is gracious." The name Shean has been in use since the medieval period in Ireland and Scotland.
In the early Irish Christian tradition, the name Seán or Shean was closely associated with St. John the Apostle, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ. The name gained popularity among Irish and Scottish families, particularly after the spread of Christianity in these regions during the 5th and 6th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shean can be found in the Irish Annals, which mention a figure named Shean Mac Conmidhe, who lived in the 8th century AD and was a notable scribe and scholar. Another early bearer of the name was Shean Ua Dubhagain, an Irish poet and historian who lived in the 14th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Shean. One of the most famous was Shean O'Casey (1880-1964), an Irish playwright and memoirist known for his works depicting the lives of the working-class in Dublin. Another influential figure was Shean O'Faolain (1900-1991), an Irish writer and literary critic who played a significant role in the Irish literary renaissance.
In the realm of sports, Shean Mullin (1882-1957) was a renowned Irish hurler who captained the Tipperary team to victory in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship in 1916. Shean Reid (1910-1992) was a Scottish professional footballer who played for Celtic F.C. during the 1930s and won numerous domestic honors.
Shean Connery (1930-2020) was a Scottish actor best known for his portrayal of the iconic character James Bond in several films, including Dr. No, Goldfinger, and Thunderball. He was widely acclaimed for his acting skills and received numerous awards, including an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards.
While the name Shean has its roots in Irish and Scottish culture, it has been adopted by various communities worldwide, reflecting the cultural exchange and migration patterns throughout history. However, its origins and historical significance remain deeply rooted in the Celtic traditions of Ireland and Scotland.
People
Shean + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shean as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Shean: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shean?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 394 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shean going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 869,935 US residents.
Is Shean a common name?
We classify Shean as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 420 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shean most popular?
The single biggest year for Shean was 1970, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shean is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shean in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 680 people with the name Shean, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,535 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Shean in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Shean?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shean leans strongly male. 625 people counted with this name were male (93.0%), compared with 47 female bearers (7.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Shean?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shean is White at 52.8%. The next largest groups are Black (26.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Shean most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shean in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.8% (359 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Shean in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shean a male name?
Yes, 98.6% of people registered as Shean in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Shean still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shean in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Shean can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Shean?
You can see how many people share the name Shean on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.