Sebastian (name)

Sebastian

Saint Sebastian is largely responsible for use of this name.
Gender Male
Origin
Word/name Latin and Greek
Meaning "from Sebastia"
Look up Sebastian in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Sebastian is a given name. It comes from the Latin name Sebastianus meaning "from Sebastia", the ancient name of the city of Sivas, in modern Turkey.[1][2] The name of the city is derived from the Greek word σεβαστός (sebastos), "venerable",[3] which comes from σέβας (sebas), "awe, reverence, dread",[4] in turn from the verb σέβομαι (sebomai), "feel awe, scruple, be ashamed".[5] Sebastos was the Greek translation of the title Augustus, which was used for Roman emperors. Sebastian became a widely used name because it was the name of Saint Sebastian, a third-century Christian martyr.

Saint Sebastian in Ilpendam North-Holland.

The name has been increasing in popularity in different countries. In the United States, it was the 98th most popular name for boys born in 2008. It was the 86th most popular name for boys born in England and Wales in 2007, the 38th most popular name for boys born in Sweden in 2007, the 13th most popular name for boys born in Norway in 2007, the fifth most popular name for boys born in Chile in 2006, and was the 59th most popular name for boys born in New South Wales, Australia in 2007.[6]

Masculine variants

Saint Sebastian in Bamberg.

Feminine variants

People

Sebastian is the given name of:

Sebastian is the surname of:

Fictional characters

References

  1. ↑ Julia Cresswell (5 November 2007). Naming Your Baby: The Definitive Dictionary of First Names. A&C Black. p. 209. ISBN 978-0-7136-8313-4.
  2. ↑ Davis, J. Madison (1995). The Shakespeare Name and Place Dictionary. Routledge. p. 444. ISBN 978-1-884964-17-6.
  3. ↑ σεβαστός, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  4. ↑ σέβας, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  5. ↑ σέβομαι, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
  6. ↑ Behind the Name