Sebastiano
Masculine · “from Sebasteia”
Sebastiano is the Italian form of a name that is a Greek translation of a Latin title. Sebastos was how Greek rendered Augustus — venerable, worthy of reverence — and the city of Sebasteia was named for the emperor. Sebastianus meant a man from that city. The name reached its American peak in 1912, carried by Italian migration rather than by any English-language fashion.
How old is the name Sebastiano?
Sebastiano first appears in US birth records in 1912 — 113 years ago. The typical Sebastiano alive today was born around 1991, making them about 34 years old. About 700 people named Sebastiano are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Sebastiano most popular?
Sebastiano peaked in 1912, reaching #1746 nationally. Today it ranks #5861, 4,115 places below that high. See the whole 1912 chart.
Sebastiano appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From sebastos to Sebastiano
The story of Sebastiano
Saint Sebastian, a Roman soldier martyred under Diocletian, became one of the most depicted saints in European art — bound to a post and shot with arrows — and was invoked against plague, which made him enormously popular in medieval Italy. Sebastiano is therefore an old and ordinary Italian name, particularly in Sicily and the south. The great southern Italian emigration to America between 1890 and 1920 brought it here in numbers, and the American record peaks in 1912 with the rest of that cohort. Most American descendants use Sebastian, the English form, which has itself become very popular since 2000.
Meaning
from Sebasteia; venerable
Greek sebastos, 'venerable, august', from sebomai, 'to revere', was the standard Greek equivalent of the Latin imperial title Augustus. Cities renamed in honor of emperors took the name Sebasteia, and Sebastianos meant an inhabitant of one. So the name is at two removes from its meaning: a place named for a title. That is a common pattern among Roman-era names and does not make the derivation any less certain.
How the name formed
- sebastos
- Sebastianus
- Sebastiano
Related forms: Sebastiano · Sebastian · Sebastiao · Sebastien · Sevastianos
Pronouncing Sebastiano
seh-bah-stee-AH-noh
Five syllables in Italian, stress on the fourth, with every vowel fully sounded. English speakers reduce it heavily or substitute Sebastian. The Italian saying keeps the ti as two sounds rather than collapsing it to a sh.
Nicknames for Sebastiano
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1912
- Most boys named
- 200630 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1746reached in 1912
- Change vs 2023
- +15.4%15 in 2025, from 13
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Sebastiano in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Sebastiano in Italian — same name
- Sebastian in Spanish — related form
- Sebastiao in Portuguese — related form
- Sebastien in French — related form
- Sevastianos in Greek — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York.
Sebastianos among us
people named Sebastiano are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 113,872 born in 2025 was named Sebastiano
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Sebastiano sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Sebastiano beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Sebastiano in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It has a documented history running from a Roman emperor's title to a saint to an Italian family name.
- Seb, Baz and Nano give it short forms in three different traditions.
- The English Sebastian is available as a shorter equivalent everywhere.
- Five syllables is long for everyday American use, so a short form is effectively required.
- It will be shortened to Sebastian by most people writing from dictation.
- Its American curve is tightly early-twentieth-century.
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What they receive
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Sebastiano
Masculine · #5861 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Sebastianos are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Sebastiano are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Sebastiano in 2025?
- Sebastiano ranks #5861 among US boy names in 2025, with 15 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Sebastiano?
- About 1 in every 113,872 US boys born in 2025 was named Sebastiano — 15 in all.
- Will my child share the name Sebastiano with classmates?
- Sebastiano will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Sebastiano
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eber#5861 · Wilton#5861 · Ruby#5861 · Stacy#5861 · Garner#5861 · Caldwell#5861 · Severin#5861 · Newton#5861
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Sebastiano? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Sebastiano and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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