Latin2 syllables#81 in the U.S.
Meaning: venerable, majestic, consecrated.
August
| Origin | Latin — the German, Scandinavian and Polish form of Augustus, now standard in English too |
|---|---|
| Meaning | Venerable, majestic, consecrated, from Latin augustus, related to augere (to increase) and to augury |
| Pronunciation | AW-gust, stressed on the first syllable, unlike the adjective aw-GUST |
| Popularity | #81 in the U.S. in the current SSA data, its highest standing in over a century |
| Variants | Augustine, Augustus, Auguste (French), Augusto (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese), Agustín, Augustyn |
| Nicknames | Gus, Auggie, Aug |
| The month | Sextilis was renamed Augustus in 8 BC in the emperor's honour |
History & meaning
In 27 BC the Roman Senate needed a word for what Octavian had become, and settled on Augustus: venerable, consecrated, worthy of reverence. It was a religious adjective before it was anyone's name, tied to augere, to increase, and to the augurs who read the will of the gods in the flight of birds. Octavian took it as a title, his successors inherited it, and in 8 BC the month Sextilis was renamed after him — which is why an English boy called August shares his name with a month rather than the other way around.
The clipped form August is the German, Scandinavian and Polish version, and it reached America mainly with nineteenth-century immigrants from those countries. It was ordinary then, went quiet for most of the twentieth century, and has come back hard: it now sits at #81 in the United States, carried by the same taste that revived Arthur and Theodore. Its relatives are everywhere once you look — Augustine is the Latin diminutive Augustinus, and Austin is what medieval English speakers did to Augustine when they said it quickly.
Why parents choose it
August manages to be a word, a month and an emperor's title at once while still sounding like a person. It gives two very different nicknames, Gus for the workshop and Auggie for the nursery, and unlike most grand Roman names it needs no apology on a playground.
Middle names for August
The hard -st ending wants a soft or vowel-led follower: August Elias, August Rowan, August Milo, August Frederick. Skip middles beginning with S. Full guidance sits in the middle names guide.
Famous Augusts
August Wilson wrote the ten-play Pittsburgh Cycle, including Fences and The Piano Lesson, and won two Pulitzer Prizes. August Strindberg largely invented modern Swedish drama with Miss Julie and The Father. The German actor August Diehl is familiar from Inglourious Basterds and A Hidden Life, and behind all of them stands Augustus, first emperor of Rome.
Consider instead
Augustine is the long form, saint attached, with Gus still available. Angus arrives at the same nickname by a completely different Gaelic route. And Arthur offers the identical register — old, kingly, faintly bookish — for parents who want it a shade warmer.