Join FunTrivia for Free: Hourly trivia games, quizzes, community, and more!
Fun Trivia
Ask FunTrivia: Questions and Answers
Answers to 100,000 Fascinating Questions
Welcome to FunTrivia's Question & Answer forum!

Search All Questions


Please cite any factual claims with citation links or references from authoritative sources. Editors continuously recheck submissions and claims.

Archived Questions

Goto Qn #


The spelling of the name Sean,Shaun,Shawn which is the correct spelling is it a matter of performance at the time?

Question #138779. Asked by endoverend.
Last updated Jan 03 2015.
Originally posted Jan 02 2015 3:17 PM.

avatar
Tekka star
Answer has 3 votes
Tekka star
13 year member
15 replies avatar

Answer has 3 votes.
Shaun and Shawn are the way Sean is pronounced in different parts of Ireland. The name is adapted from the Anglo-Norman name John.

link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seán

Jan 02 2015, 6:11 PM
avatar
daver852 star
Answer has 1 vote
daver852 star
22 year member
312 replies avatar

Answer has 1 vote.
As is often the case, the Wikipedia article is full of it! No one should ever believe what Wikipedia says without additional corroboration. Sean is the Gaelic form of the name John, which is, of course, found in the Bible, and was known in Ireland long before the Norman invasion.

Jan 02 2015, 9:05 PM
avatar
rossian star
Answer has 6 votes
Currently Best Answer
rossian star
Moderator
19 year member
153 replies avatar

Answer has 6 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
The first couple of posts on here:

link http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2fn69p/eli5_why_is_the_name_sean_pronounced_like_shawn/

explain this. There should be an accent on the letter a, which changes the pronunciation to the 'sh' sound. I believe that Sean is the 'correct' spelling and that the other versions are because non Irish people would pronounce the name as 'seen'. The same applies to the Welsh variation, Sion, which is also pronounced Shaun.

Jan 03 2015, 2:07 AM
free email trivia FREE! Get a new mixed Fun Trivia quiz each day in your email. It's a fun way to start your day!


arrow Your Email Address:

Sign in or Create Free User ID to participate in the discussion