UK boy's name
Seumas
Scottish Gaelic form of James, meaning "he supplants".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 1996. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Seumas is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Seumas popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 1996 in this profile. In that release it ranked #2863, with 3 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 1996, with 3 births.
This profile covers 3 England and Wales registrations across 1 recorded years from 1996 to 1996. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
Seumas is at its recorded peak in the England and Wales series.
We estimate that about 148 living people in the UK are called Seumas. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 1997 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Seumas ranked #2863 for boys in England and Wales in 1996, with 3 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 1996, when 3 boys were registered as Seumas.
- • Seumas ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #432 in 2024.
- • About 148 living people in the UK are estimated to have Seumas as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#2863
1996
Births in 1996
3
Latest year
Peak year
1996
3 births
Estimated living
148
2026
Meaning
What does Seumas mean?
The name Seumas is the Gaelic form of the name James, derived from the Late Latin name Iacomus which originated as the Hebrew name Ya'aqov. The name Ya'aqov means "supplanter" or "one who follows". It stems from the biblical patriarch Jacob, son of Isaac and Rebecca.
The name James first appeared in the New Testament of the Bible, referring to two of Jesus's disciples known as James the Greater and James the Less. St. James the Greater was one of the first apostles and a son of Zebedee. His feast day is celebrated on July 25th.
Seumas has been a popular name in Scotland for centuries, particularly in the Highlands and Islands regions. It was borne by several Scottish kings, including Seumas IV (1473-1513) who ruled from 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden Field. Seumas V (1512-1542) reigned from 1513 to 1542.
Another notable bearer was Seumas Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (1612-1650), a Scottish nobleman and poet who initially supported the Covenanters but later became a royalist and fought for King Charles I in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. He was executed in 1650 after being captured by the Covenanters.
Seumas Macpherson (1736-1796) was a Scottish writer and poet, best known for his controversial work "The Poems of Ossian" which he claimed to have translated from ancient Gaelic sources, though their authenticity was later disputed.
In the 20th century, Seumas O'Sullivan (1879-1958) was an Irish writer and editor who co-founded the Dublin literary renaissance journal "The Irish Review". He was a close friend of James Joyce and W.B. Yeats.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Decades
Seumas by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Seumas was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | #2863 | 3 | 1 |
Geography
Where Seumas is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Seumas. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Seumas ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #432 in 2024.
Across the UK
Seumas in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#432 in 2024
29 years of NRS records, 146 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Seumas
-
Seumas MacKay
athletics competitor
2001-
-
Seumas Milne
writer; journalist; trade unionist
British journalist
1958-
-
Seumas Kerr
military personnel
British Army general
1953-
-
Seumas Campbell
singer
Scottish singer
1945-
-
Seumas O'Kelly
writer; playwright; journalist; novelist; short story writer
Irish journalist, fiction writer, and playwright (1875–1918)
1881-1918
-
Seumas MacManus
writer; poet
Irish poet
1868-1960
Related
Names similar to Seumas
- Samuel 108,505
- Sebastian 33,008
- Sam 20,889
- Stanley 16,354
- Sonny 15,028
- Sean 15,006
- Scott 12,587
- Seth 9,841
- Syed 9,050
- Stephen 8,884
- Spencer 8,333
- Steven 6,970
FAQ
Seumas: questions and answers
How popular is the name Seumas in the UK right now?
In 1996, Seumas was ranked #2863 for boys in England and Wales, with 3 births registered.
When was Seumas most popular?
The peak year on record was 1996, with 3 babies registered as Seumas in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Seumas?
Scottish Gaelic form of James, meaning "he supplants".
How many people are called Seumas in the UK?
A total of 3 babies have been registered as Seumas across the 1 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 146 more in Scotland.
Where is Seumas most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Seumas ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #432 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.