Sebastian

seh-BAS-chun

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The name Sebastian means “venerable, revered.” It comes from the Latin language tradition.

Sebastian comes from the Latin 'sebastianus' meaning 'from Sebastia' (modern Sivas, Turkey), associated with the Greek 'sebastos' (revered). Saint Sebastian and Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night' established its classical-literary pedigree.

From the Greek Sebastos, meaning venerable or revered, which was the Greek rendering of the Latin title Augustus. Sebastianus therefore meant a man from Sebaste, a city named in the emperor's honour, so the name reaches its meaning through a place rather than directly.

St Sebastian, a third-century Roman soldier martyred under Diocletian, became one of the most painted figures in Western art — the arrow-pierced saint was a rare licence for artists to depict the male nude, and he was also invoked against plague. The name is common across Europe and Latin America and entered the American top twenty in the 2010s.

• Sebastian Bach (German composer J.S. Bach)
• Sebastian Stan (Romanian-American actor)
• Sebastian (The Little Mermaid character)

Sibling names that share Sebastian's rhythm and register without echoing it too closely.