Actually, with this spelling (Севастьян), Sevastyan is the main Russian form of Sebastian, with Sevastian (also spelled Севастьян in the main database) being the variant transcription. You see, the standard transcription for the letter я in the name is "ya", while "ia" and "ja" are usually considered variant transcriptions.You might also want to compare some names in the main database for this, such as:- Anya (Аня) is the main form, while Ania (Аня) is a variant transcription. - Ilya (Илья) is the main form, while Ilia (Илья) is a variant transcription. - Yuliya (Юлия) is the main form, while Yulia (Юлия) is a variant transcription.Taking a look at the name Demyan (Демьян) in the main database is also a good idea, as it ends in -ян (-yan) just like Sevastyan does, but is correctly listed as the main form. Granted, its variant transcription Demian (Демьян) is not listed in the main database, but if it were, I'm sure it would have been listed as the variant transcription instead of as the main form.With that said, Sevastian does not solely exist as a variant transcription of Sevastyan - that is, with a different spelling. It turns out that the spelling Севастиан (Sevastian) is also in use in Russia, but it is much less common than Севастьян (Sevastyan). Well, if Google is anything to go by, that is - with exact search, the former yields 50, 700 search results and the latter 390, 000 search results.Also check out the following websites:- http://kurufin.ru/html/Rus_names/rus_s.html (in Russian; scroll down until you see "Sebastianus" in one of the columns on the right) - http://kurufin.ru/html/Translate/Sevastyan.html (in Russian) - https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C%D1%8F%D0%BD (in Russian)They appear to tend to list Sevastian (Севастиан) as the main or original spelling, with Sevastyan (Севастьян) as a variant spelling. And of course the latter spelling can also be transcribed into English as Sevastian, which can make things a bit confusing. But as long as you look at the Russian spelling for guidance, then it should be clear when Sevastian is a legitimate name on its own and when it is a variant transcription of Sevastyan. [noted -ed]
You might also want to compare some names in the main database for this, such as:
- Anya (Аня) is the main form, while Ania (Аня) is a variant transcription.
- Ilya (Илья) is the main form, while Ilia (Илья) is a variant transcription.
- Yuliya (Юлия) is the main form, while Yulia (Юлия) is a variant transcription.
Taking a look at the name Demyan (Демьян) in the main database is also a good idea, as it ends in -ян (-yan) just like Sevastyan does, but is correctly listed as the main form. Granted, its variant transcription Demian (Демьян) is not listed in the main database, but if it were, I'm sure it would have been listed as the variant transcription instead of as the main form.
With that said, Sevastian does not solely exist as a variant transcription of Sevastyan - that is, with a different spelling. It turns out that the spelling Севастиан (Sevastian) is also in use in Russia, but it is much less common than Севастьян (Sevastyan). Well, if Google is anything to go by, that is - with exact search, the former yields 50, 700 search results and the latter 390, 000 search results.
Also check out the following websites:
- http://kurufin.ru/html/Rus_names/rus_s.html (in Russian; scroll down until you see "Sebastianus" in one of the columns on the right)
- http://kurufin.ru/html/Translate/Sevastyan.html (in Russian)
- https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C%D1%8F%D0%BD (in Russian)
They appear to tend to list Sevastian (Севастиан) as the main or original spelling, with Sevastyan (Севастьян) as a variant spelling. And of course the latter spelling can also be transcribed into English as Sevastian, which can make things a bit confusing. But as long as you look at the Russian spelling for guidance, then it should be clear when Sevastian is a legitimate name on its own and when it is a variant transcription of Sevastyan. [noted -ed]