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Gender Masculine
Other Forms FormsΦροντάσιος (Phrontasios, Frontasios)

Meaning & History

Meaning and origin uncertain. One source states that it is ultimately derived from the Latin noun frons meaning "forehead, brow" as well as "front", which would thus make the name etymologically related to the Latin names Fronto and Frontinus. However, for this to be true, the name would have to have been spelled differently originally. It would either have to be spelled Frontosius in order to make possible a derivation from the Latin adjective frontosus meaning "many-browed, having multiple foreheads" as well as "bold, shameless, forward", or it would have to be spelled Frontatius in order to allow for a derivation from the Latin noun frontati or frontatus meaning "stones that go from one side of a wall to the other and are faced both ways". Unfortunately, these two spellings yield no truly useful or relevant results on Google, so that appears to count against a Latin origin of this given name.

Perhaps the name is of Greek origin instead, as the spellings Phrontasios and Frontasios did yield results on Google. For both of these spellings, the actual Greek spelling is Φροντάσιος. With a Greek origin, this name would most likely have to be derived from the Greek verb φρονέω (phroneo) meaning "to think" as well as "to be minded", which itself is ultimately derived from the Greek noun φρήν (phren) meaning "midriff" as well as "mind, intellect, wits". As a result, this name would be etymologically related to the Greek names Phrontis and Phronton.

The only known bearer of this name is the martyr and saint Frontasius of Puy, who died during the reign of the Roman emperor Claudius (whose rule lasted from 41 AD to 54 AD). He was put to death near the city of Podium in southern Roman Gaul (nowadays Le Puy-en-Velay in France) on the orders of Squiridonus, the local Gallo-Roman governor. He did not die alone, for three men named Severinus, Severianus and Silanus were executed alongside him. All of them now have a feast day dedicated to them in both the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, which is January 2nd in the former and June 4th in the latter.
Added 11/20/2016 by Lucille
Edited 1/19/2024 by Frollein Gladys and Mike C