Zebastian
Derivation of the name Sebastian, meaning "venerable, revered."
Name Census estimates that about 199 living Americans carry the first name Zebastian. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Zebastian today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zebastian births was 2014 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zebastian. 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.
People living today
199
~ 1 in 1,722,384 Americans
Peak year
2014
16 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,211
Tracked since 2000
Popularity
Zebastian: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zebastian from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 104 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Zebastian remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zebastian 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 Zebastian during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zebastians live
Origin
Meaning and history of Zebastian
The name Zebastian is believed to have its origins in the ancient Greek language, deriving from the name "Sebastianos," which itself comes from the Greek word "sebastos," meaning "venerable" or "revered." The name gained popularity in the early Christian era, as it was adopted by several early saints and martyrs.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Zebastian can be found in the writings of the 3rd-century Christian scholar and theologian, Origen of Alexandria, who mentioned a martyr named Sebastianos in his works. This early reference suggests that the name was in use among Christian communities in the Roman Empire during that time period.
In the 4th century, the name gained further prominence with the veneration of Saint Sebastian, a Roman soldier who was martyred for his Christian faith during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. According to legend, Sebastian was tied to a tree and shot with arrows, but he miraculously survived and continued to preach Christianity until he was eventually beaten to death. His name and story became widely known and celebrated throughout the Christian world.
Over the centuries, the name Zebastian has been used by several notable figures, including:
1. Zebastian Cabot (c. 1476-1557), an Italian navigator and explorer who became the first European to explore the coast of North America since the Vikings.
2. Zebastian Münster (1488-1552), a German cartographer and theologian who produced one of the first modern atlases, the "Cosmographia."
3. Zebastian Virdung (c. 1500-1550), a German friar and one of the earliest writers on musical instruments, authoring the treatise "Musica getutscht und ausgezogen" in 1511.
4. Zebastian Bach (1685-1750), the renowned German composer and musician, considered one of the greatest composers of the Baroque era.
5. Zebastian Sommer (1857-1909), a German-American painter known for his landscapes and scenes of urban life in late 19th-century America.
Over time, the name Zebastian has undergone various spellings and adaptations in different languages and cultures, reflecting its widespread use and enduring popularity throughout history.
People
Zebastian + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zebastian as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Z
Other first names starting with Z with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Zebastian: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zebastian?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 199 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zebastian 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 1,722,384 US residents.
Is Zebastian a common name?
We classify Zebastian as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 201 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zebastian most popular?
The single biggest year for Zebastian was 2014, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zebastian is about 13 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 Zebastian in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zebastian a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Zebastian 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 Zebastian still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zebastian 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 Zebastian 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 Zebastian as a first name?
See how many people share the name Zebastian on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.