Sixtus was a Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 name, a corruption of the Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 name "," meaning "polished," and originally Latinized "Xystus." It is not to be confused with the common Roman name "Sextus

Sextus

Sextus is a common ancient Roman praenomen. It probably means "sixth" . Parallel praenomina are Secundus, Tertius, Quintus, Septimus, Octavius and Decimus...

," meaning "sixth," though not necessarily denoting a sixth child.

Notable people named Sixtus include five Pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

s of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

, the first three of whom are called "Xystus" in the most ancient records:

• Pope Sixtus I
  Pope Sixtus I
  Pope Saint Sixtus I was bishop of Rome from about 117 or 119 to 126 or 128 C.E., succeeding Pope Alexander I and succeeded by Pope Telesphorus. In the oldest documents, Xystus is the spelling used for the first three popes of that name....
  
   (115/116–125)
• Pope Sixtus II
  Pope Sixtus II
  Pope Sixtus II or Pope Saint Sixtus II was Pope from August 30, 257 to August 6, 258. He died as a martyr during the persecution by Emperor Valerian....
  
   (257–258)
• Pope Sixtus III
  Pope Sixtus III
  Pope Saint Sixtus III was pope from 31 July 432 to 18 August 440.The name of Sixtus is often connected with a great building boom in Rome: Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill was dedicated during his pontificate and he built Santa Maria Maggiore, whose dedication to Mary the Mother of God reflected...
  
   (432–440)
• Pope Sixtus IV
  Pope Sixtus IV
  Pope Sixtus IV , born Francesco della Rovere, was Pope from 1471 to 1484. His accomplishments as Pope included the establishment of the Sistine Chapel; the group of artists that he brought together introduced the Early Renaissance into Rome with the first masterpiece of the city's new artistic age,...
  
   (1471–1484)
• Pope Sixtus V
  Pope Sixtus V
  Pope Sixtus V , born Felice Peretti di Montalto, was Pope from 1585 to 1590.-Early life:The chronicler Andrija Zmajević states that Felice's family originated from modern-day Montenegro...
  
   (1585–1590)

Other notable people named Sixtus include:

• Sixtus of Siena
  Sixtus of Siena
  Sixtus of Siena , a converted Jew, followed a Franciscan course of study and became a Roman Catholic theologian. Though he was convicted of heresy he was saved by a Dominican inquisitor, the future Pope Pius V, who repealed the condemnation when Sixtus recanted and pledged to transfer to the...
  
   (1520–1569)
• Edmund Sixtus Muskie (1914–1996)
• Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma
  Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma
  Prince Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma was a Prince of the Duchy of Parma, a Belgian officer in the First World War, and the central figure in the Sixtus Affair.- Biography :Sixtus was a son of the last Duke of Parma, Robert I and his...
  
   (1886–1934)
• Prince Sixtus Henry of Bourbon-Parma (*1940)