A LITTLE UNCOMMON. ENTIRELY YOURS.
Meaning, origin and pronunciation, with published usage by place and year.
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From Sebaste; its place-name root means venerable or exalted.
The recorded Latin name derives from the ancient city Sebaste. The city name comes from Greek Sebastos, a title corresponding to Augustus; venerable describes that root, rather than a promised personal quality.
Latin Sebastianus, from Sebaste, whose name has an Ancient Greek root.
The English given-name entry records the Latin transmission and Greek place-name root. The licensed Greek label is retained as a candidate summary, rather than erased; it is too broad to explain the full route.
/səˈbæst͡ʃən/
One documented English reading. The source also records a four-syllable reading in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
Recorded English reading, as published. Accents and preferred pronunciations can differ.
Counts apply only to the exact spelling, place, year and recorded usage shown. Places are separate; these figures are never added into a worldwide total. Missing or suppressed records never mean zero.
| Place | Year | Recorded usage | Published births | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 1998 | Girls | 5 | 2521 | 2025 figures are preliminary. Quebec counts below five are randomly imputed by the publisher before national aggregation. Accents are removed in the source; this profile was matched only where the catalog spelling was unambiguous. Unpublished values are unknown, not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| Canada | 2025 | Boys | 403 · preliminary | 68 | 2025 figures are preliminary. Quebec counts below five are randomly imputed by the publisher before national aggregation. Accents are removed in the source; this profile was matched only where the catalog spelling was unambiguous. Unpublished values are unknown, not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| France | 2025 | Boys | 40 (rounded to 5) | 972 | Counts are rounded to the nearest multiple of five. Ranks use unrounded publisher counts with randomly ordered ties; equally rounded counts can have different ranks. National coverage excludes Mayotte before 2012. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Automated direction labels are withheld for this rounded-count series. Rank basis: source published. |
| England & Wales | 2025 | Boys | 1,077 | 47 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| Northern Ireland | 2025 | Boys | 14 | 159 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| Scotland | 2025 | Boys | 29 | 152 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| Ireland | 2025 | Boys | 43 | 125 | Names below three occurrences are unpublished. Accent recording changed in 2018; comparisons across that boundary may not describe the same spelling coverage. Counts refer to registrations in the year. Missing years are unavailable, not zero. Rank basis: source published. |
| United States | 2025 | Girls | 10 | 9457 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: calculated from published counts. |
| United States | 2025 | Boys | 8,605 | 16 | Source-reported counts; unpublished names are not zero. Rank basis: calculated from published counts. |
Canada, Ireland and France coverage includes confidently matched existing profiles only; unmatched spellings are awaiting review. French counts are rounded to five.
Open an entry for its source, credit, licence and full qualifications. Different name traditions remain separate.
Checked against cited source
The recorded Latin name derives from the ancient city Sebaste. The city name comes from Greek Sebastos, a title corresponding to Augustus; venerable describes that root, rather than a promised personal quality.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
Relationship explicitly recorded in the reviewed given-name section; spellings remain separate in popularity statistics.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
The reviewed English entry explicitly documents Seb as a Sebastian diminutive. Popularity counts remain separate.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
The dictionary explicitly identifies Zeb as an English short form of Sebastian, also used in Sweden. This is an additional documented possibility, not a required family nickname. Credit: Eva Brylla and Katharina Leibring, Förnamn i Sverige – kortfattat namnlexikon, second edition (Institutet för språk och folkminnen, 2026), printed page 350. Original factual summary by Rare Baby Names; copyright remains with Charlotta Seiler Brylla, Katharina Leibring and Isof. No source prose, image or audio reproduced.
Original factual summary; source rights retained
Checked against cited source
The English given-name entry records the Latin transmission and Greek place-name root. The licensed Greek label is retained as a candidate summary, rather than erased; it is too broad to explain the full route. Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Source: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Sebastian&oldid=93053790. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Adaptation: Rare Baby Names condensed the given-name etymology and distinguished root from transmission and usage. No audio reused.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
One documented English reading. The source also records a four-syllable reading in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
Credit: Wiktionary contributors. Adapted by Rare Baby Names: wording shortened and name contexts separated. Recorded pronunciations are shown as published.
This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Checked against cited source
Exact name forms and relationship wording were visually checked. Existing meanings, origins and pronunciations remain unchanged. The source’s Swedish bearer intervals are not imported as annual birth counts. Credit: Eva Brylla and Katharina Leibring, Förnamn i Sverige – kortfattat namnlexikon, second edition (Institutet för språk och folkminnen, 2026), printed page 350. Original factual summary by Rare Baby Names; copyright remains with Charlotta Seiler Brylla, Katharina Leibring and Isof. No source prose, image or audio reproduced.
Original factual summary; source rights retained
Checked against cited source
The dictionary lists Zebastian as a spelling form with Sebastian. Their usage statistics and preferred pronunciations remain separate. Credit: Eva Brylla and Katharina Leibring, Förnamn i Sverige – kortfattat namnlexikon, second edition (Institutet för språk och folkminnen, 2026), printed page 350. Original factual summary by Rare Baby Names; copyright remains with Charlotta Seiler Brylla, Katharina Leibring and Isof. No source prose, image or audio reproduced.
Original factual summary; source rights retained
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Attribution: Source: NISRA : Website: www.nisra.gov.uk
License: Open Government Licence v3.0
Attribution: (C) Crown copyright. Data supplied by National Records of Scotland.
License: Open Government Licence v3.0
Attribution: Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence
License: Open Government Licence v3.0
Attribution: U.S. Social Security Administration
Credit: Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0147-01, 1991–2025, released 23 September 2026.
License: Statistics Canada Open Licence
Adaptation: Adapted from Statistics Canada, First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators, Table 17-10-0147-01, reference years 1991–2025. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Credit: Central Statistics Office, Ireland, VSA50 and VSA60, updated 27 February 2026.
License: CC BY 4.0
Adaptation: Adapted by Rare Baby Names: joined the published count and rank indicators and matched unambiguous existing spellings. Source values retained.
Credit: Source : Insee, Fichier des prénoms, updated 16 July 2026.
License: Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab)
Adaptation: Adapted by Rare Baby Names: column names and sex codes mapped and unique case-only spellings matched to existing profiles. Published rounded counts and ranks retained.
