Séamus Explained

Séamus
Pronunciation:
in Irish ˈʃeːmˠəsˠ/
Gender:Male
Meaning:"He may/will/shall follow/heed/seize by the heel/watch/guard/protect", "Supplanter/Assailant", "May God protect" [1]
Region:Ireland, Scotland
Origin:Goidelic languages
Related Names:Hamish, James, Jamie, Seumas.

Irish: Séamus|italics=no (in Irish pronounced as /ˈʃeːmˠəsˠ/) is an Goidelic male given name, of Hebrew origin via Latin. It is the Irish equivalent of the name James. The name James is the English New Testament variant for the Hebrew name Jacob. It entered the Irish and Scottish Gaelic languages from the French variation of the late Latin name for Jacob, Latin: Iacomus; a dialect variant of Latin: Iacobus, from the New Testament Greek Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Ἰάκωβος (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Iákōvos), and ultimately from Hebrew word Hebrew: יעקב, i.e. Jacob. The name comes either from the Hebrew root Hebrew: עקב ʿqb meaning "to follow, to be behind" but also "to supplant, circumvent, assail, overreach", or from the word for "heel", Hebrew: עֲקֵב ʿaqeb. It can also be taken to mean "may [God] protect."[2] [3] . The traditional explanation for the name follows that it was given to the patriarch Jacob when he was born, as he was grasping his twin brother Esau's heel, though this is a folk etymology.[4]

Other variant spellings in Irish include Irish: Séamas, Irish: [[Seumas]] and Seumus. It has also been anglicised as Shaymus, Seamus, Seamas, Sheamus and Shamus. Diminutives include Irish: Séimí, Irish: Séimín and Irish: Séamaisín.

In the United States, the word "Shamus" was a derogatory slang misspelling of Séamus that arose during the 19th century as more than 4.5 million Irish immigrated to America, peaking at almost two million between 1845 and 1852 during the Great Famine (Irish: An Gorta Mór). Irish immigrants found employment in the police departments, fire departments and other public services of major cities, largely in the Northeast and around the Great Lakes, and have been overrepresented in the New York police since then.[5] Though still used by some as a derogatory term, the great preponderance of Irish and Irish-American law enforcement officers led to a persisting stereotype, and the name "Shamus" continues to refer to Irish-American police and private detectives.

Given name

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Meaning, origin and history of the name Jacob. Mike. Campbell. 13 February 2017.
  2. Jonathan Z. Smith, Map is Not Territory: Studies in the History of Religions, University of Chicago Press (1978), p. 33.
  3. Web site: Meaning, origin, and history of the name Jacob. Behind the Name.
  4. Web site: Meaning, origin, and history of the name Jacob. Behind the Name.
  5. Book: Patterns of provocation: Police and public disorder . 2000 . Berghahn Books . Bessel, Richard
    Emsley, Clive; European Centre for the Study of Policing
    . 1571812288 . New York . 43114240.

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