Sebastian (name)
Sebastian is both a given name and a surname. It comes from the Greek name Sebastianos (Σεβαστιανός) meaning "from Sebastia" (Σεβάστεια), which was the name of the city now known as Sivas, located in the central portion of what is now Turkey; in Western Europe the name comes through the Latinized intermediary Sebastianus.[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 calque 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 is largely responsible for use of this name. | |
Pronunciation | English: /sɪˈbæstʃən/ sib-AS-chən, UK also /sɪˈbæstiən/ sib-AST-ee-ən German: [zeˈbasti̯a(ː)n] Romanian: [sebastiˈan] Spanish: [seβasˈtjan] |
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Gender | Male |
Origin | |
Word/name | Latin and Greek |
Meaning | "from Sebastia", "Augustus" |
Other names | |
Related names | Sebastián, Sébastien, Sebastião, Bastian, Bastien, Bas, Augustus |
As a given name, 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.
Variants
- Croatian: Sebastijan
- Czech: Sebastián, Šebestián
- Dutch: Bas, Sebastiaan, Bastiaan
- English: Bastian, Seb (nicknames)
- Finnish: Sebastian, Seppo, Sepi (diminutive)
- French: Bastien, Sébastien, Sébastienne (feminine)
- German: Bastian
- Greek: Sebastianos (Σεβαστιανός)
- Hungarian: Sebestyén
- Italian: Sebastiano, Sebastiana (feminine)
- Latin: Sebastianus
- Latvian: Sebastians, Sebastiāns, Sebastjans
- Lithuanian: Sebastijonas
- Malayalam: Devasia, Devassy (ദേവസ്യാ), Sebasthianos
- Maltese: Bastjan
- Portuguese: Sebastião
- Romanian: Sebastiana (feminine), Seba, Sebi (diminutive)
- Russian: Sevastian (Cyrillic: Севастьян), Sevastyan
- Sicilian: Bastianu
- Slovene: Boštjan, Sebastijan, Sebastjan
- Spanish: Sebastián
- Swahili: Sebastiani
- Swedish: Sebbe (nickname)
- Turkish: Sivaslı
- Vietnamese: Sêbastianô

People
Single name and other monikers
- Infante Sebastian of Portugal and Spain (1811–1875), Infante of Portugal (1811) and Infante of Spain (1824)
- Saint Sebastian, a Christian saint martyred in the 3rd century
- Mr. Sebastian (1933–1996), professional name of body pierce artist Alan Oversby
- Sebastian, Danish musician
- Sebastian of Portugal (1554–1578), the sixteenth king of Portugal and the Algarve
- Sebastian (rapper), brother of Timbaland
- Sebastián (sculptor) (born 1947), artist based in Mexico
- Sebastianus (magister peditum) (died 378), 4th-century Roman general
- Sebastianus (died 413), 5th-century usurper of the Western Roman Empire
- Sin With Sebastian (also known as Sebastian), German musician
Given name
- Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), German composer
- Sébastien Akchoté-Bozović (born 1981), French musician, also known as SebastiAn
- Sebastián Abreu (1976), retired Uruguayan soccer player
- Sebastian Aho (born 1997), Finnish ice hockey player
- Sebastian Bach (born 1968), Canadian heavy metal singer, former member of Skid Row
- Sebastian Binder (1792–1845), Austrian opera singer
- Sebastian Bodu (born 1970), Romanian politician
- Sebastián Borensztein (born 1963), Argentine filmmaker
- Sebastian Brendel (born 1988), German canoeist
- Sebastian Cabot (explorer) (c. 1484–1557), originally Sebastiano Caboto, Italian explorer
- Sebastian Cabot (1918–1977), British actor
- Sebastian Coe (born 1956), British track and field athlete & Conservative Member of Parliament
- Sebastian Colloredo (born 1987), Italian ski-jumper
- Sebastian Dance (born 1981), British politician
- Sebastian Deisler (born 1980), German professional footballer
- Sebastian Edathy (born 1969), German politician
- Sebastian Faulks (born 1953), British author
- Sebastián Francini (born 1989), Argentine actor
- Sebastian Fülle (born 1992), German basketball player
- Sebastian Fundora (born 1997), American professional boxer
- Sebastian Giovinco (born 1987), Italian footballer
- Sebastian Goldspink, curator of the 2022 Adelaide Biennial at the Art Gallery of South Australia
- Sebastian Gutierrez (born 1974), Venezuelan film director and producer
- Sebastián Gutiérrez (footballer) (born 1997), Colombian footballer
- Sebastian Horsley (1962-2010), English artist
- Sebastian Ingrosso (born 1983), Swedish D.J. & member of the music group Swedish House Mafia
- Sebastian Janikowski (born 1978), Polish-born American NFL football player
- Sebastian Joseph (born 1995), American football player
- Sebastian Karlsson (born 1985), Swedish singer
- Sebastian Kehl (born 1980), German professional footballer
- Sebastián Kindelán y Oregón (1763–1836), Spanish colonel of the Spanish Army
- Sebastian Koch (born 1962), German actor
- Sebastian Kurz (born 1986), Austrian politician
- Sebastian Maniscalco (born 1973), American stand-up comedian
- Sebastián Martínez (disambiguation), several people
- Sebastian Melmoth (1854-1900), Oscar Wilde's pseudonym during his exile in France
- Sebastian Papaiani (1936-2016), Romanian actor
- Sebastian Pasquali (born 1999), Australian professional footballer
- Sebastián Piñera (born 1949), Chilean politician and president of Chile 2018–
- Sebastián Prieto (born 1975), Argentinian tennis player
- Sebastian Prödl (born 1987), Austrian professional footballer
- Sebastian Roché (born 1964), French actor
- Sebastian Rode (born 1990), German professional footballer
- Sebastián Rozental (born 1976), Chilean professional soccer player
- Sebastian Rudy (born 1990), German professional footballer
- Sebastian Sauve (born 1987), American model
- Sebastian Schmitt (born 1996), German basketball player
- Sebastian Sebulonsen (born 2000), Norwegian footballer
- Sebastian Seeman (born 1966), Indian Tamil film director & actor
- Sebastian Stan (born 1982), Romanian-American actor
- Sebastian Świderski (born 1977), Polish volleyball player
- Sebastian Telfair (born 1985), American basketball player
- Sebastián Umegido (born 1993), Mexican professional footballer
- Sebastián Vázquez (basketball) (born 1985), Uruguayan basketball player
- Sebastian Vettel (born 1987), German Formula One Driver
- Sebastian Wiese (born 1972), German freestyle swimmer
- Sébastien Bourdais (born 1979), French Indycar driver
- Sébastien Loeb (born 1974), French rally car driver
- Sebastien Michaelis (1543-1618), French Inquisitor
- Sébastien Ogier (born 1983), French rally car driver
Surname
- Cuthbert Sebastian (1921–2017), Governor-General of St. Kitts and Nevis from 1996 to 2013
- Dorothy Sebastian, American silent film actress
- Guy Sebastian, winner of the 2003 (first) series of Australian Idol
- Jam Sebastian (1986–2015), Filipino online personality
- Jaybee Sebastian (1980–2020), Filipino criminal
- Joan Sebastian (1951–2015), Mexican singer-songwriter, actor
- John Sebastian (1914−1980), American classical harmonica player and composer
- John Sebastian (born 1944), American songwriter, member of the Lovin' Spoonful
- Linus Sebastian (born 1986), a Canadian YouTube personality, presenter, producer, and founder of Linus Media Group
- Madonna Sebastian, Indian actress and singer
- Mihail Sebastian, Romanian writer
- Rita Sebastian (died 1996), Sri Lankan journalist
- Robin Sebastian, British actor
- Tim Sebastian (born 1952), British journalist
- Tim Sebastian (footballer), German defender
Other
- Belle & Sebastian, Scottish band
Fictional characters
- Sebastian Milton, character and antagonist of the Walking Dead, who murdered the protagonist Rick Grimes
- Sebastian (The Little Mermaid), a crab featured in The Little Mermaid (1989) and related works
- Sebastian (Twelfth Night), one of the main characters from William Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night
- Sebastian, the true name of the Narrator from the novel and film Fight Club
- Sebastian, Alexandra Cabot's cat in the Josie and the Pussycats comic book cartoon series
- Sebastian, freelance programmer and bachelor from the video game Stardew Valley
- Sebastian, Lili De Rochefort's butler in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection
- Sebastian, character in William Shakespeare's play, The Tempest
- Sebastian Beach, the butler of Lord Emsworth and his family in the Blandings stories by P. G. Wodehouse
- Bastian Balthazar Bux, fictional lead in The Neverending Story series
- Sebastian Castellanos, main character in The Evil Within series
- Sebastian "Bash" de Poitiers, fictional character in Reign
- Sebastian De Rosa, fictional character in Alien vs. Predator
- Lord Sebastian Flyte, character in Evelyn Waugh's novel, Brideshead Revisited
- Sebastian Hawks from Mike Leigh's movie Naked (1993)
- Sebastian Kydd, Carrie's love interest in The Carrie Diaries
- Sebastian LaCroix, leader of the L.A Camarilla in the video game Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines
- Sebastian Michaelis, the demonic butler from the manga and anime Kuroshitsuji
- Bass Monroe, nickname of Sebastian Monroe, the fictional President in Revolution
- Colonel Sebastian Moran, a Sherlock Holmes villain
- Hector Sebastian, fictional writer, narrator of later episodes of the Three Investigators
- J.F. Sebastian from Blade Runner (1982)
- Mr. Sebastian, codebreaker in the film Sebastian (1968)
- Serena Sebastian, English name of the anime character Sonoko Suzuki in the English adaptations of Detective Conan (Case Closed)
- Sebastian Shaw (comics), supervillain from Marvel Comics
- Sebastian Smythe, recurring character in the 3rd and 4th season of Glee
- Sebas Tian, head butler in the anime and light novel Overlord
- Sebastian Vael, Prince of Starkhaven in Dragon Age II
- Sebastian Valmont, character in the film Cruel Intentions (1999)
- Sebastian Verlac, character in Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments series novel City of Glass
- Sebastian Wilder, character in the film La La Land (2016)
- Sebastian Becker, main character in the Sebastian Becker series of novels by Stephen Gallagher - The Kingdom of Bones (2007), The Bedlam Detective (2012) and The Authentic William James (2016)
- Sebastian "Bash" Lacroix, main character in the Canadian television show Anne with an E (2017-2019)
- Sebastian Matthew-Smith from the Disney+ mockumentary High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
Mascots
- Sebastian the Ibis, the mascot of the University of Miami
References
- 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.
- Davis, J. Madison (1995). The Shakespeare Name and Place Dictionary. Routledge. p. 444. ISBN 978-1-884964-17-6.
- σεβαστός, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
- σέβας, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
- σέβομαι, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus