The origin of the city’s Basque name has been the subject of debate for centuries. The earliest written references date back to the late 15th century. Since then, historians and linguists have put forward different hypotheses to explain its origin.
These are the four main theories:
1. Koldo Mitxelena
The most widely accepted theory, popularised by the philologist Koldo Mitxelena, states that Donostia is a phonetic evolution of the Basque name Done Sebastiáne, which in turn derives from the Latin Domine Sebastianus.
As the distinguished philologist explains in his 1953 book Apellidos vascos, the approximate evolution would have been: Donesebastiane, Donasabastiai, Donasastia, Donastia, Donostia.
Furthermore, in Basque, the name Donosti is used in two other references to this saint: the Chapel of San Sebastián (Jaun Donosti) in Orendain, and another chapel of the same name in Arano. The same example can be found in other Basque names, such as Donibane (San Juan), Doneztebe (San Esteban) and Donejakue (Santiago).
Koldo Mitxelena
2. Ostia
Another theory suggests the same origin, but through a very different route. Saint Sebastian was buried in the Roman city of Ostia and, until the 19th century, his relics were carried in procession through various cities across Europe every 20 January. In Spanish, “Don” comes from the Latin Domine, meaning “Lord”. According to this theory, Donostia would therefore mean “the lord who came from Ostia“.
3. Estuary
Following this line of thought, the historian Javier Sada proposes another possibility. In Latin, “Ostia” means “gate” or “estuary”, so it is possible that the first inhabitants living around the Monastery of San Sebastián referred to those living in what is now the Old Town as Don-ostia-rras, since they were the “domines” (“lords”) who lived at the estuary of the Urumea River.
Photo: Luis Peralta
4. Urtzi
There is one final theory that has nothing to do with the Roman saint. According to this interpretation, the name Donostia comes from the Basque god Urtzi, also known as Ostri. He is a pagan deity representing the sky and is considered to be the origin of the weekday names osteguna (Thursday) and ostirala (Friday). Thus, once again starting from the Latin language, “Don Ostia” could be interpreted as meaning “Saint Urtzi”.
The city’s official name is Donostia / San Sebastián. Would you also like to discover the origin of its Spanish name, San Sebastián?
Representation of the Basque god Urtzi
