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Seumas

Boy name · 153 babies recorded · 1974–2025

Seumas: 153 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to boys, peaking at 10 births in 2006.

Seumas is the Scottish Gaelic form of James, tracing back through Latin and Greek to the Hebrew Ya'aqov, meaning “supplanter” or “heel-grabber.” Among its notable bearers are the Irish storyteller Seumas MacManus and the Scottish Gaelic poet Seumas MacDhòmhnaill, both celebrated for their contributions to Celtic literature. Though few places bear the name directly, it shares its root with countless towns and churches named after Saint James, including Santiago de Compostela. A charming quirk of this name is its anglicised variant, Hamish, which arose from the Gaelic vocative case Sheumais—making Seumas the only Scottish name to evolve into an entirely different form for English speakers.