Recorded 1925–2025 · United States
Sean was most popular in 1990, when 12,070 American babies were given the name — ranking #62 that year. In 2025 it ranked #978, with 623 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 426,606 people named Sean.
Sean first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1925, which makes it about 100 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 97 of the 101 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 426,606 American births named Sean between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 398,787 are estimated to be alive today.
623 American babies were named Sean in 2025, ranking #978 that year.
Sean is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 761 births a year, against 2,447 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -69% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Sean is a boy’s name — 0.7% of the 426,606 Americans given it were girls and 99.3% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 0% girls and 100% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 398,787 Americans named Sean are alive today — 93% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 38 years old, and half are between 28 and 50.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
Irish · form of John, "God is gracious"
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Sean on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org