u/frankoceansintern

American girl here. My boyfriend is Canadian and his legal name is Sebastian, but he will always introduce himself as Seb. My boyfriend is shocked that I (along with my friends and family) have never met another Seb. I learned that Seb is a pretty common/usual name in Canada. I know plenty of Sebastians, but never someone who solely goes by Seb before him. Is it fair to say that “Seb” isn’t really a common name here in the States?

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