Gender Masculine
Usage Late Greek (Latinized)
Meaning & History
Latinized form of Ἀμασιος (Amasios), which is probably either a Greek variant form of Amasis or of Amasias. The former appears to be the more likely of the two, due to the historically close trade relations between Greece and Egypt. Alternatively, the name Amasios might possibly be derived from the name of the ancient Greek city Ἀμάσεια (Amaseia), which is nowadays known as Amasya and located in northern Turkey. The city is said to have been named after a little-known queen of the Amazons, which were a race of woman warriors from Greek mythology.A known bearer of this name was saint Amasius of Teano, who lived in the 4th century AD. He was a Greek man who was forced into exile in Italy for his opposition to the Arian heresy, where he went on to become bishop of Teano in 346 AD.