Boy's name
Séamus
“SHAY-mus”
the Irish form of James
Why it is said that way
S before é is sh and the fada lengthens it: SHAY-mus. The English Seamus and the Irish Séamus are the same name; the fada is the only thing missing.
- s before e or i → sh
- á é í ó ú (the fada) → a long vowel — and never optional
The story behind the name
Séamus Heaney, who won the Nobel Prize in 1995, made it the most quoted Irish name of the late 20th century, 'hope and history rhyme' comes from his 'Cure at Troy'. The Jacobites' loyalty to James II gave Ireland the phrase Séamus an Chaca, 'James the Sh—', after he fled the Boyne.
Where the name belongs
Meanings follow Ó Corráin & Maguire's Irish Names and Woulfe; pronunciations give the commonest Irish-English form. Know this name better — a dialect pronunciation, a family tradition? Tell us. · All Irish names A–Z