Sebastyen
A masculine name of Greek origin meaning "venerable" or "revered".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Sebastyen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Sebastyen today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sebastyen births was 2003 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sebastyen. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Sebastyen. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
2003
5 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2006 SSA rank
#13,660
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Sebastyen: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Sebastyen 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 Sebastyen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 10 | 0 | 10 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Sebastyen
The name Sebastyen is derived from the ancient Greek name Sebastianos, which itself originated from the Greek word "sebastos" meaning "venerable" or "revered." This name has its roots in the Byzantine Empire, where it was initially used as an honorific title for the Roman emperors.
The name gained widespread popularity during the early Christian era, as several saints and martyrs bore this name. One of the earliest and most notable figures was Saint Sebastian, a Roman soldier who was martyred during the 3rd century AD for his Christian faith. His unwavering devotion and courage made him a revered figure in the Christian tradition, and his name became closely associated with strength and perseverance.
As Christianity spread throughout Europe, the name Sebastyen became widely adopted, particularly in regions with strong Catholic or Eastern Orthodox traditions. It was commonly used in countries like Italy, Spain, Portugal, and parts of Eastern Europe, where variations such as Sebastiano, Sebastián, and Sebastião emerged.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sebastyen dates back to the 4th century AD, when a Christian martyr named Sebastyen was venerated in Milan, Italy. Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods, numerous notable figures bore this name, including Sebastyen Münster (1488-1552), a German cartographer and scholar renowned for his groundbreaking work in mapmaking and cosmography.
In the 16th century, Sebastyen I (1554-1578) was the King of Portugal, known for his ambitious and ill-fated military campaign in Morocco, where he lost his life in the Battle of Alcácer Quibir. Another prominent figure was Sebastyen Brant (1457-1521), a German humanist and satirist best known for his work "Das Narrenschiff" (The Ship of Fools), a literary masterpiece that criticized the vices and follies of his time.
During the Renaissance, the name Sebastyen was also associated with the arts, with notable examples such as Sebastyen del Piombo (1485-1547), an Italian painter and contemporary of Michelangelo, and Sebastyen Bourdon (1616-1671), a French painter and engraver renowned for his religious and mythological works.
Throughout history, the name Sebastyen has maintained its connection to strength, perseverance, and religious devotion, reflecting its origins in the stories of early Christian martyrs and its enduring popularity in regions with strong Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions.
People
Sebastyen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sebastyen 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
Sebastyen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sebastyen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sebastyen 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Sebastyen a common name?
We classify Sebastyen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sebastyen most popular?
The single biggest year for Sebastyen was 2003, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sebastyen is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Sebastyen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sebastyen a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sebastyen 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 Sebastyen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sebastyen 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 Sebastyen 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Sebastyen?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.