Category Archives: Spanish Names

Sebastian

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Latin
Meaning “from Sebastus.”

The name Sebastian is the English form of the Latin, Sebastianus. It means “from Sebastus.”

Sebastus was a town in Armenia. The town of Sebastus was named for the emperor Augustus, “sebastos” being the direct Greek translation of Augustus, which is Latin and means “venerable.”

In the States, the name has had a recent surge of popularity, it is currently the 74th most popular male name. Its rankings in other countries are as follows:

  • # 59 (Australia, 2008)
  • # 7 (Austria, 2008)
  • # 5 (Chile, 2006)
  • # 7 (Denmark, 2008)
  • # 77 (England/Wales, 2008)
  • # 43 (Germany, 2009)
  • # 312 (the Netherlands, 2008)
  • # 12 (Norway)
  • # 32 (Poland, Warsaw, 2009)
  • # 44 (Sweden, 2008)

Other forms of the name include:

  • نايتسبس Cpectayan (Arabic: used primarily among Arab Christians)
  • Sɛbasadian Սեբաստյան (Armenian)
  • Wast/Wastl/Wastel (Bavarian)
  • Sebastijan (Bosnian/Croatian)
  • Sebastià (Catalan)
  • Bas (Dutch: originally a diminutive, now used as an independent given name)
  • Bastiaan (Dutch/Low Saxon)
  • Sebastiaan (Dutch)
  • Sebastian (English/German/Polish/Romanian/Scandinavian)
  • Seppo (Finnish)
  • Sébastien/Bastien (French)
  • Sebast’ian სებასტიან (Georgian)
  • Bastian (German: contraction of Sebastian.
  • Sebestyén/Szebastián (Hungarian)
  • Sebastiano/Bastiano (Italian)
  • Sebastianus (Latin)
  • Sebastians (Latvian)
  • Sebastijonas (Lithuanian)
  • Sebastjan Себастијан (Macedonian/Serbian)
  • Bastjan (Maltese)
  • Sebastião/Bastião (Portuguese)
  • Sebaščan (Prekmurian)
  • Sevastian Севастьян (Russian/Ukrainian)
  • Bustianu/Serbestianu (Sardinian)
  • Vastianu (Sicilian)
  • Šebastián/Sebastián (Slovak)
  • Boštjan (Slovene)
  • Sebastijan/Sebastjan (Slovene)
  • Bošćij (Sorbian)
  • Sebastián (Spanish)
  • Baschdl (Swabian)
  • Bastián (Venetian)

German diminutives include: Basti, Baschti, Baschi/Baschy (Swiss-German), Sabba, Sebbe, Sebbo, Sepp, Seppi, Seibi and Selbi.

Basto is an Italian diminutive form.

Hungarian diminutives are Sebő and Sebők.

Polish diminutives are Sebek

Feminine forms include:

  • Bastienne/Sébastienne (French)
  • Sebastiane (German)
  • Bastiana/Bastianina/Sebastiana (Italian)
  • Vastiana (Sicilian)
  • Sebastiána (Slovakian)
  • Sebastiana (Spanish/Polish)

Diocletian, Diocles

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Gender: Masculine
Origin: Greek
Meaning “glory of Zeus.”
Διοκλης

It is no surprise that Diocletian’s name should bare a meaning revering one of the gods of Ancient Greece, as it is said that Diocletian was a pious man who adhered to the old ways of the empire. The name itself is a latinized form of the Greek name, Diocles.

In Greek mythology, Diocles was one of the first priests to the goddess Demeter, and he is also credited to be one of the first to learn the Elysian Mysteries.

Due to Emperor Diocletian’s cruel persecution of Christians, his name never caught on after the fall of the Roman Empire, but other forms historically exist. These include: (Please keep in mind that all these forms are very rare and are barely ever used in their home countries outside a history book)

  • Diokleciani (Albanian)
  • Diokleziano (Basque)
  • Dioclecià (Catalan)
  • Dioklecijan (Croatian/Serbian/Slovene)
  • Dioclétien (French)
  • Diocleziano (Italian)
  • Diokletian (Dutch/German/Scandinavian)
  • Diocletianus (Latin)
  • Diokletiāns (Latvian)
  • Diokletian (Norwegian)
  • Dioklecjan (Polish)
  • Diocleţian (Romanian)
  • Dioclezzianu (Sicilian)
  • Dioklecián (Slovakian)
  • Diocleciano (Spanish/Galician/Portuguese)

Prisca, Priscilla

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Latin
Meaning: “ancient”

The name is a feminine form of the Latin, Priscus, a Roman family name, meaning “ancient.”

It was borne by the wife of Emperor Diocletian, who was rumored to be a Christian.

It was also the name of a woman mentioned in one of the epistles of Paul.

Legend has it that this was the name of one of the very few Christian martyrs actually to be killed within the renowned coliseum of Rome(pictured left).

In recent culture, it is borne by the former wife of Elvis Presley and mother of Lisa Marie Presley.

The name caught on in the English speaking world around the 17th-century, when it became popular among Puritans. It appears in English literature in Edmund Spencer’s The Faerie Queen (1596)

Its designated name-day is January 18.

The more common form of this name, Priscilla, is actually an old Latin diminutive form of Prisca. Due to the Epistles of Paul, the diminutive form became more popular.

Prisca is used in Dutch, Italian, German and Spanish.

Other forms of both names include:

  • Prisque (French)
  • Priska (German)
  • Piroska (Hungarian: Piri is the diminutive)
  • Pryska (Polish)

Other forms of Priscilla include:

  • Priscille (French)
  • Priszilla (German)
  • Priscila (Spanish)

Masculine forms are Priscus and Priscillus.

Traditionally, common English nicknames were Prill, Priss, Prissy and Scilla.

Irene, Irena, Eirene

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Greek
Meaning: “peace.”
Eng (i-REEN); Eng archaic (i-REE-nee)
Ειρηνη

The name is derived from the Greek eirene, (i-RAY-nee), meaning “peace.”

The Ancient Greeks personified the idea of peace in form of a goddess by the name of Eirene. She was considered a Horai.

The name was also borne by a Byzantine Empress.

The name has always been popular among Eastern Christians and its usage did not become popular in the English speaking world till about the 19th-century, no doubt, due to the popular folk song, Good Night Irena.

A more elaborate form of this name is the Latin Aerenia, pronounced (ay-RAY-nee-uh).

Irene is also used in Catalan, Dutch, Estonia, German, Finnish, Italian, Latvian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish.

Irene is currently the 636th most popular female name in the United States. In Spain, she ranked in at # 6 for 2006.

Other forms include:

  • Erja (Finnish: AIR-yah)
  • Irène (French: ee-HREN)
  • Irenée
  • Irén (Hungarian)
  • Irena/Irina/Irinea (Italian)
  • Irena (Polish/Czech/Croatian/Dutch/Lithuanian/Serbian/Slovak: Polish diminutive forms are Renia, and Irenka. Ena is the Croatian diminutive)
  • Iria (Portuguese/Galician)
  • Irina (Romanian/Slovene)
  • Arina Арина (Russian)
  • Irina Ирина (Russian/Bulgarian/Macedonian: Russian diminutive forms are Arisha and Irinushka)
  • Iryna Ірина (Ukrainian)

Italian masculine forms are Ireno, Irenio and Ireneo.

The designated name-days are: April 3 (Germany); April 5 (Estonia/Finland/France), April 15 (Sweden), May 5 (Greece) and May 15 (Latvia).

Lucina

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Gender: Feminine
Origin: Latin
Meaning “grove” “lit hill.”

The name of the Roman goddess of Childbirth, the name is also featured in the legend of Saint Sebastian. The woman mentioned became a beloved saint, whose cult became especially popular in Poland.

The name is either derived from the Latin lucus meaning “grove” or from the Latin, meaning “lit hill.”

The Roman’s probably pronounced this more like (loo-KEE-nah), but ecclesiastical Latin would utilize the softer and more melodic pronunciation of (loo-CHEE-nah).

Other forms include:

  • Lucine (French)
  • Lucina (Italian: loo-CHEE-nah)
  • Lucyna (Polish: loot-SIH-nah)
  • Lucina (Spanish: loo-THEE-nah; loo-SEE-nah)