Date
Meaning & History
From Greek Βελισάριος (Belisarios), probably of Illyric origin. This was the name of a famed Byzantine general and war hero who served the emperor Justinian. He was possibly of Slavic ancestry which has led to speculation that the name derives from Slavonic Beli-tzar "white prince" (the -sarius element being interpreted as coming from the old Slavic word tsesar or tsesari, which was derived from CAESAR, thus giving Belisarius a "princely" connotation), but this etymology has since been discounted as somewhat dubious.