boy's name
Augustus
aw-GUS-tus
- Origin Latin
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 3
- Letters 8
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 22,880
the United States
#407
2025 births
Augustus is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "venerable" or "consecrated". It was not a name at all to begin with — it was a title the Roman Senate awarded to Octavian in 27 BC, and it became a name because he kept it.
- Augustus is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 2024, when 791 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 4,234 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Augustus over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 587 |
| 1890s | 461 |
| 1900s | 380 |
| 1910s | 1,289 |
| 1920s | 1,548 |
| 1930s | 1,068 |
| 1940s | 967 |
| 1950s | 855 |
| 1960s | 601 |
| 1970s | 509 |
| 1980s | 531 |
| 1990s | 1,419 |
| 2000s | 2,279 |
| 2010s | 5,102 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 4,094 |
What Augustus means
Augustus means worthy of reverence, from a root about increase and consecration. The word belonged to religion before politics: something augustus had been sanctioned by the auspices.
Where Augustus comes from
Augustus comes from the Latin augere, to increase, through a religious sense of consecrated or sanctioned by augury. The Senate conferred it on Octavian in 27 BC as an honorific too grand for an ordinary man, and he used it as a name; every subsequent emperor took it as a title, which is why August is a month and why Augustus, August and Augusta all descend from a piece of political theater. It entered general European naming through the church and through Saint Augustine, whose own name is a diminutive of it. It appears in our records in every year from 1880.
Augustus in use
Augustus appears in our records from 1880 and peaked in 2024.
How popular is Augustus?
In 2025, Augustus was given to 783 babies in the United States, ranking #407 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Augustus is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Augustus
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Augustus also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Augustus over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Augustus
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Augustus in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Augustus
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Augustus — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Augustus
What does the name Augustus mean?
Venerable or consecrated, from the Latin augere, to increase, by way of a religious sense of sanctioned by augury.
Was Augustus a real name?
Not originally. It was a title the Senate gave Octavian in 27 BC, and it became a name because he kept it.
What is short for Augustus?
Gus and Auggie are both common.
How popular is the name Augustus?
In 2025, Augustus was given to 783 babies in the United States, ranking #407 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Augustus a girl's or a boy's name?
Augustus is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Augustus?
Augustus has 3 syllables.
When was Augustus most popular?
Augustus peaked in 2024, when 791 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Augustus?
Augustus is usually shortened to Gus and Auggie.
Is Augustus a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Augustus currently ranks #407 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.