As used by Christians, it means "from Nazareth," the town where Jesus Christ was said to have lived.
[citation needed] Among Muslims it may also be of Persian, Arabic, or Turkic origin, see article "nazar" for etymology.
Nazario is an Italian and Spanish version of the name, Nazaire is a French version and Nazarii is a Ukrainian and Nazaryi Russian form.
Other variants in use include Naz, Nasareo, Nasarrio, Nazaret, Nazarie, Nazaro, Nazarene, Nazerine and Nazor.
In 2008, Nazar was the most popular name for boys born in Ukraine.