Pontus as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Pontus

What is the meaning of the name Pontus ?

The baby name Pontus is a Male name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced English: /ˈpɒntəs/ (PON-təs); Swedish: /ˈpɔntʉs/ (PON-toos).

Pontus is Greek in Origin.

Pontus is a masculine name with twin roots. In Ancient Greek Πόντος (Póntos) means “sea” and names a primordial sea-deity, later also a geographic term for the Black Sea region. In Scandinavia, however, the given name Pontus largely arrived via the Latin nomen Pontius (of Samnite origin), filtered through French Ponce, and became established in Sweden from the 1500s, helped by the prominence of the nobleman Pontus De la Gardie.

Today Pontus is most common in Sweden and among Finland-Swedish speakers, yet recognized across the Nordics. The sense most often attached to the name is “sea,” via the Greek, while the Pontius line carries no secure meaning. Variants and cognates include Greek Pontos, Latin Pontus and Pontius, French Ponce (and Occitan Pons), Italian Ponzio, Spanish Poncio, and Polish Poncjusz; rare feminines appear as Pontia or Ponzia.