Sebastian

Sebastian meaning

Sebastian is an international and Christian boy's name of Greek origin (via Latin).

"from Sebastia"; from Greek sebastos, "venerable, august"

Also used to mean: revered

Sebastian comes from Latin Sebastianus, Greek Sebastianos, 'a man from Sebastia', a town whose name was built on sebastos. Liddell, Scott and Jones give sebastos as venerable, reverend or august, and note that Greek used it to translate the Roman emperor's title Augustus. The name spread through St Sebastian, a Roman soldier martyred in the third century and often painted pierced with arrows. Later bearers include the composer Johann Sebastian Bach and the racing driver Sebastian Vettel. Baby-name lists give 'venerable' or 'revered', which matches. It is said seh-BAS-chun.

Source: Liddell, Scott & Jones, A Greek–English Lexicon (9th ed., 1940), via Logeion · entry σεβαστός · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: LSJ, σεβαστός (via Logeion) · Wikipedia, Sebastian (name) · Wikipedia, Saint Sebastian

Famous namesakes

• St Sebastian, Christian martyr
• Johann Sebastian Bach, German composer

Popularity abroad

• #16 United States, boys 2025 (down 2 from 14 in 2024)
  US Social Security Administration
• #47 England and Wales, boys 2025
  Office for National Statistics

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

Spellings

Sebastian · Sebastien · Sebastián

Related names

Also meaning grace

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