Adrian is a form of the
Latin given name Adrianus or
Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river
Adria from the
Venetic and
Illyrian word
adur, meaning 'sea' or 'water'. The Adria was until the 8th century BC the main channel of the
Po River into the
Adriatic Sea but ceased to exist before the 1st century BC.
Hecataeus of Miletus (c.550 - c.476 BC) asserted that both the
Etruscan harbor city of
Adria and the Adriatic Sea had been named after it. Emperor
Hadrian's family was named after the city or region of Adria/Hadria, now
Atri, in
Picenum, which most likely started as an Etruscan or Greek colony of the older harbor city of the same name.