Of Roman origin.
From the name Hadrian which in turn comes from the name Hadrianus.
Hadrianus was a Roman cognomen. Cognomen was the third name of Roman citizens that was initially just a nickname, later traditionally passed from father to son.
Hadrianus indicated a person from the ancient Italian town of Hadria.
Adrian was the name of six popes and at least five saints, such as Adrian of Nicomedia, Adrian of May, Adrian of Corinth, etc.
Feminine form of the name is Adriana.
Alternative forms of the name are Adrien, Adriano, Ad, Adi, Jadran.
Adrian is a popular name in Spain, Sweden, and Romania. Is ranked #60 in the U.S.A., #25 in Norway and #46 in Mexico.
Famous bearers are Adrian Paul, Adrian Lester, Adrian Grenier, Adrian Smith, Adrian Mutu, Adrian Zmed.
Adrian Paul is an English actor who became known when starring in the tv series “Highlander”. More about Adrian Paul.
Additional information concerning the Ancient Roman naming system:
According to the Roman naming rules, the basic elements of Roman names were three. A “praenomen”, a “nomen”, and a “cognomen”.
A “praenomen” was the first name, indicating the personal name.
A “nomen” was the second name, indicating the ‘gens’ to which the bearer of the name belonged to. Gens, meaning the group of families sharing a common “nomen”.
“Nomen” would stand as the group of loosely connected families claiming common ancestors. “Nomen” were always patrilinear, meaning from the father.
A “cognomen” was the third name and was something like the surname. Cognomina (plural of cognomen) were usually inherited. They were rarely given to the bearer by general consensus by the prominent members of the community.
There were several types of “cognomina”, such as geographical, adoptive, occupational, etc. In very rare cases the “cognomina” could be metronymic, meaning from the mother’s “nomen