Given name
Seumas
“he who supplants”
Seumas is a form of James. James is traditionally associated with “he who supplants” through its connection with Jacob. The explanation belongs to the biblical Jacob story, rather than describing a separate meaning created by the English spelling James. Seumas is a variant of Seamus. In Irish use, Seamus carries the interpretation “he who supplants.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Seumas is a form of James. James is traditionally associated with “he who supplants” through its connection with Jacob. The explanation belongs to the biblical Jacob story, rather than describing a separate meaning created by the English spelling James. Seumas is a variant of Seamus. In Irish use, Seamus carries the interpretation “he who supplants.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Seumas is a form of James. James is the English and Scottish form of a name sharing the Hebrew ancestor Yaakov with Jacob. English developed a lasting distinction between the two; that separation is not universal across languages.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
Seumas is a form of James. The shared background comes through James: The route to James passes through Late Latin Iacomus, a variant of the Latin form of Jacob. This different Latin development helps explain how James and Jacob could become distinct English names while retaining the same older origin.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1981. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Seumas is a form of James. The history of James gives this family its wider story. James was borne by two New Testament disciples: James son of Zebedee and James son of Alphaeus. James later became a recurring Scottish royal name: James VI of Scotland took the English throne in 1603. After James II lost that throne in 1688, his family’s supporters became known as Jacobites, drawing on the Latin form of James.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Seumas through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 5
- 5 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1981
- 5 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 1981. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Seumas’s family of names
In Scottish Gaelic usage, Seumas has a diminutive in Seumaidh. Seumas shares a linguistic root with James. In Scottish Gaelic usage, Seumas has a conventional equivalent in the Portuguese form Jacob.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Seumas has relatives in 9 languages.
13 related names in 9 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 13
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Jamescognate · English
- JacobPortuguese, Spanish
- JaimeSpanish
- JacoboSpanish
- GiacomoItalian
- JakubCzech
- Hamishdoublet · English
- JacóPortuguese
Show 5 moreShow fewer
People named Seumas
- Seumas O'KellyIrish journalist, fiction writer, and playwright (1875–1918)
- Seumas MacManusIrish poet1868–1960
- Seumas MilneBritish journalistborn 1958
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Seumas, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Jacques
“he who supplants” · “heel grabber”
>99% boys
Seumus
“he who supplants”
>99% boys
Cerdic
“a king”
>99% boys
Reynald
“the king's advisor”
>99% boys
Kendricks
“a royal ruler” · “the champion”
>99% boys
Rodrigues
“son of Rodrigo”
>99% boys
Rodriguez
“son of Rodrigo”
>99% boys
Saarrah
“princess”
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