Sebastion
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "venerable, revered".
Name Census estimates that about 890 living Americans carry the first name Sebastion. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Sebastion today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sebastion births was 2000 (49 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sebastion. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Sebastion with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
890
~ 1 in 385,117 Americans
Peak year
2000
49 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,193
Tracked since 1928
Census
Sebastion in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,499 people with the first name Sebastion, which placed it at #9,313 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#9,313
National first-name rank
People counted
1.5K
1,499 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
49.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sebastion
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sebastion is Hispanic at 49.4%. The next largest groups are White (39.4%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Sebastion described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Sebastion at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino49.4% · 740
- White39.4% · 590
- Two or more races4.8% · 72
- Black or African American4.3% · 64
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 14
Popularity
Sebastion: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sebastion from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 369 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Sebastion remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sebastion by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Sebastion during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sebastions live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, California, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Sebastion, while Ohio, Indiana, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sebastion
The name Sebastion has its origins in the Greek language, derived from the Greek word "sebastos," which means "venerable" or "revered." It is a masculine name that has been in use since ancient times.
In ancient Greece, the name Sebastion was initially used as an honorary title for Roman emperors, signifying their elevated status and the respect they commanded. Over time, it evolved into a personal name, particularly popular among early Christian communities.
One of the earliest historical references to the name Sebastion comes from the biblical figure Saint Sebastian, a early Christian martyr who lived during the 3rd century AD. According to legend, he was a Roman soldier who was executed for his Christian faith under the reign of Emperor Diocletian.
Another notable figure bearing the name Sebastion was Sebastian I, who served as Pope of the Catholic Church from 615 to 618 AD. He is remembered for his efforts in resolving theological disputes and promoting unity within the Church.
During the Middle Ages, the name Sebastion gained popularity across Europe, particularly in regions with strong Christian traditions. One famous bearer of the name was Sebastian Münster (1488-1552), a German cartographer and scholar who produced one of the earliest modern world maps.
In the Renaissance period, Sebastion became a favored name among the aristocracy and nobility. One prominent example is Sebastian Vauban (1633-1707), a French military engineer who revolutionized the design and construction of fortifications.
Throughout history, several composers and musicians have also borne the name Sebastion, including Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), the renowned German composer and organist, and Sebastian Erard (1752-1831), a French instrument maker who is credited with inventing the modern piano pedal.
Other notable individuals with the name Sebastion include Sebastian Junger (born 1962), an American author and journalist known for his work on war and conflict, and Sebastian Vettel (born 1987), a German racing driver and four-time Formula One World Champion.
While the name Sebastion has its roots in ancient Greece and early Christianity, it has transcended cultural and linguistic boundaries, becoming a popular name across various regions and time periods. Its enduring presence is a testament to its rich historical significance and the reverence associated with its meaning.
People
Sebastion + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sebastion as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sebastion: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sebastion?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 890 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sebastion going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 385,117 US residents.
Is Sebastion a common name?
We classify Sebastion as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 917 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sebastion most popular?
The single biggest year for Sebastion was 2000, when 49 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sebastion is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sebastion in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,499 people with the name Sebastion, or 0.50 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,313 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Sebastion in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Sebastion?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sebastion appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,497 people counted with this name, 99.6% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Sebastion?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sebastion is Hispanic at 49.4%. The next largest groups are White (39.4%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Sebastion most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Sebastion in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.4% (740 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Sebastion in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sebastion a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sebastion in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Sebastion still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sebastion in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Sebastion can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Sebastion?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.