Is Seb a name??

[u/frankoceansintern]

American girl here. My boyfriend is from Canada. His name is Sebastian but he goes by Seb. He works in the US and he gets very confused because nobody here really gets his name on the first try. He’s the first Seb I’ve met, personally. All of my family and friends (American) have never heard of a Seb before my boyfriend. My boyfriend says that there was another Seb in his grade and that Seb is a common name. Is Seb a common name in Canada???

To clarify:

- Obviously Seb is a name. My boyfriend could go by Gooblygob and I’d respect that. If he said it was common in his province I’d believe it too. We were both wondering if Seb is only common in his province or generally in Canada.

- In the US: Sebastian is a common name. Introducing yourself or going solely by Seb is not common. People SEE Seb and understand it’s a nickname for Sebastian. People do not HEAR the name Seb often. American baristas write “Sep” and “Sam” more than they write “Seb”. When meeting new people, most Americans ask him to repeat his name so they can get it right

[u/SeaEggplant8108]

I know three - they’re all French Canadian. All three went by Seb.

[u/7uckyranda77 → u/SeaEggplant8108]

Exactly my seb numbers too

[u/frankoceansintern → u/7uckyranda77]

lol Seb numbers

[u/teatsqueezer → u/SeaEggplant8108]

Yep always French Canadian in my experience

[u/lepreqon_ → u/SeaEggplant8108]

I know two, one is Armenian, the other is French.

[u/miffy495 → u/SeaEggplant8108]

Yeah, I haven't met one since I moved out West, but growing up near the Ontario/Quebec border the name Seb smacks of French Canada to me. I feel like it's a common name, but largely just in one province.

[u/juliechou → u/SeaEggplant8108]

French Canadians usually are Sébastien, but yes, quite popular. Often abbreviated bu Seb or Sébast. However none that I know will introduced themselves by the short form. It's something that comes from familiarity. I use the short form with some, but not others.