boy's name
Austin
AWS-tin
- Origin Latin
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 485,218
the United States
#113
2025 births
Austin is a boy's name that began as a medieval English contraction of Augustine, meaning "venerable" or "majestic," from the Latin augustus. The Texas city is named after Stephen F. Austin, whose surname came from the same contraction.
- Austin is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 1995, when 26,080 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,032 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Austin 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 | 609 |
| 1890s | 586 |
| 1900s | 715 |
| 1910s | 3,216 |
| 1920s | 4,270 |
| 1930s | 2,688 |
| 1940s | 2,491 |
| 1950s | 2,208 |
| 1960s | 2,031 |
| 1970s | 4,921 |
| 1980s | 32,156 |
| 1990s | 191,674 |
| 2000s | 113,931 |
| 2010s | 60,316 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 21,911 |
What Austin means
Austin means venerable or majestic, inherited from Augustine and the Latin augustus. It carries no meaning of its own, being simply how English speakers pronounced a longer Latin name.
Where Austin comes from
Austin is what medieval English speakers made of Augustine — the same compression that turned Æthelthryth into Audrey. Augustine comes from the Latin Augustinus, from augustus, meaning venerable, the title granted to Octavian. Two saints carried it: Augustine of Hippo, the fourth-century theologian, and Augustine of Canterbury, who led the mission to convert the Anglo-Saxons in 597. The Austin Friars took the shortened form, which survives in London street names. Austin became a surname as well as a given name, and the Texas capital honors Stephen F. Austin, the American colonizer of the territory.
Austin in use
Austin is to Augustine what Audrey is to Æthelthryth — a long Latin name worn down by centuries of English speech.
How popular is Austin?
In 2025, Austin was given to 3,214 babies in the United States, ranking #113 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Austin 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 Austin
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Austin also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Austin over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Austin
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.
Austin 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.
- French
- Augustine
Sibling names for Austin
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Austin — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Austin
What does the name Austin mean?
Austin means "venerable," inherited from Augustine and the Latin augustus.
Is Austin short for Augustine?
It is the medieval English contraction of it, and has been a name in its own right for centuries.
Is Austin, Texas named after the name?
After Stephen F. Austin, whose surname came from the same contraction.
How popular is the name Austin?
In 2025, Austin was given to 3,214 babies in the United States, ranking #113 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Austin a girl's or a boy's name?
Austin is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Austin?
Austin has 2 syllables.
When was Austin most popular?
Austin peaked in 1995, when 26,080 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Austin?
Austin is usually shortened to Tin.
Is Austin a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Austin currently ranks #49 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.