Onesimus

Gender: Masculine
Origin: Greek
Meaning: “beneficial, profitable.”
Fre (oh-nay-SEEM)

The name is derived from the Greek, Ονησιμος, (Onesimos), which means, “beneficial, profitable.”

In the New Testament, it is the name of an escaped slave of Philemon who was converted by St. Paul. He is revered as a saint in the Orthodox and Catholic Churches.

Other forms of the name include:

• Onesimus (Dutch/English/German/Latin)
• Onésime (French)
• Onésimo (Galician/Portuguese/Spanish)
• Onisime ონისიმე (Georgian)
• Onesimos Ονησιμος (Greek)
• Onesimo (Italian)
• Onisimu Онисїмъ (Old Church Slavonic)
• Onezym (Polish)
• Anisim/Onisim Анисим (Russian)

The designated name-day in France is February 16.

Sources

1. http://www.behindthename.com/name/onesimus
2. http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=4908
3. http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/Onesimus.htm
4. Paul Guérin (a cura di), Vie des Saints des Petits Bollandistes, Parigi, Bloud et Barral editori, 1876, tomo II, p. 545