It’s been worn by a king, a composer, an indie pop star and an animated crab.  And as of 2007, this choice is more popular than ever before in history.

Thanks to Natalie for suggesting today’s Name of the Day: Sebastian.

Way back in the day, Sebaste was a common place name.  In Greek, it means venerable, and was the translation of Augustus, an epithet worn by Caesar and later Roman emperors.  Since naming your village after the big cheese has always been a popular move, there were plenty of Sebastes, the most prominent one located in Asia Minor on the Black Sea coast.  Sebastian simply meant “man from Sebaste.”

It’s been in use ever since.  In the third century, Saint Sebastian was martyred under Diocletian.  He’s usually depicted with arrows – the story goes that, despite being riddled with dozens, he survived and had to be executed by clubbing.

More than a century later, Sebastianus was a powerful aristocrat who briefly seized power in Gaul before being executed for his troubles.

Fast forward to the 1500s.  In Portugal, the future King Sebastian I of Portugal reigned.  His name is not one traditionally found in royal circles, but he was born on St. Sebastian’s Day.

In the early 1600s, William Shakespeare used the name for Viola’s twin brother in his comedy of mistaken identities, Twelfth Night.

A century later, Johann Sebastian Bach composed some of the most memorable and beloved works in the Western tradition.

Today, it’s a Top Ten choice in Chile, Norway, Austria, Denmark and will be heard in Australia, Poland, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, the UK and throughout the US.

Belle & Sebastian is the name of a Glasgow-based indie band that made it big in the 90s.  Their name is borrowed from a French children’s book.  While no one in the band is actually named Sebastian, the author of the book used the appellation for her own son.  It’s a well-known book that became a popular French television show in the 1960s and twenty years later, a Japanese anime version, too.

While this sounds like the recipe for a name that has been consistently used and should be considered a classic, Sebastian actually flirted with obscurity in the late 19th century, disappearing from the US Top 1000 for several years.  It reappeared, then spent much of the 1950s out of favor.

Perhaps that’s because Sebastian has something of a soft sound.  That’s quite acceptable – even fashionable – for boys these days, but has not always been the case.  Some parents may also have picked up on the link between Sebastian and homosexuality.  Rumor has it that the saint himself was gay, and he’s become something of an icon in the LGBT community.  It’s not a new tale, either – Oscar Wilde used Sebastian as an alias; writers Evelyn Waugh and Tennessee Williams also referenced the link.

Today this seems like a trifling concern, even a bigoted one.  But in an earlier era, it’s easy to imagine that it would hurt the name’s popularity.  But say Sebastian today and most modern parents will think of Horatio Thelonius Ignatius Crustaceous Sebastian, the animated crab from 1989′s The Little Mermaid.  He sang “Under the Sea” on the soundtrack – for which he won an Oscar for Best Original Song.

The name was already well on its way to recovery when the crab first appeared, but the crustacean clearly helped Sebastian rise.  In 1988, it stood at #457.  Two years later, it had climbed to #320 and by 2000, it had cracked the Top 100.  Today, Sebastian stands at #72.  It’s not Aiden, but odds are that you’ll meet a small Sebastian before too long.

On balance, we think Sebastian’s softer sound meshes well with Elijah and Isaiah, Noah and Christian.  There’s no doubt that he’s part of the Softer Side of Boys phenomenon we’ve seen in recent years.  And the long history of use makes this name versatile and interesting, too.  Still, it is a choice that has clearly been discovered.  That either makes it accessible and acceptable for parents reluctant to stray too far from the classics, or unappealing for those who don’t wish to risk their child being one of several in his school.  Sebastian is also hamstrung by the lack of an obvious nickname – though we’ve heard Ian and Seb, and both work well.

It’s not the most adventurous choice, but it is one with plenty of appeal and charm and a very current sound, too.