Augustine

About Augustine

Augustine comes from Latin Augustinus, a name derived from Augustus, meaning “exalted” or “venerable.” In English it is traditionally masculine; in French the same spelling is feminine. Two different saints helped carry the name through Christian history, giving it connections with both North African philosophy and medieval England.

Roman roots and international forms

Augustus began as a Roman honorific and became an imperial title. Augustinus developed from it as a personal name, and Augustine is one of its later forms. The meaning belongs to the Augustus family rather than to the English calendar word August alone.

English relatives include Austin and Austen, which developed into shorter forms. Augustin is used in French and German, Agostino in Italian, Agostinho in Portuguese, and Agustín in Spanish. French feminine Augustine corresponds to masculine Augustin; it is a gendered form within the same Latin family, rather than an unrelated name.

Augustine of Hippo

Augustine of Hippo lived from 354 to 430 and became one of the most influential Christian theologians and philosophers of late antiquity. He came from North Africa and served as bishop of Hippo, in what is now Algeria.

His Confessions, written around 397–401, combines recollection of his own life with reflection on conversion, memory, and the search for God. Its personal voice helped make Augustine familiar to readers well beyond specialists in early church history.

His larger body of writing shaped later arguments about faith, human willing, and religious life. The title Doctor of the Church recognizes his theological importance. His reputation helped establish Augustine as a widely used Christian name.

Augustine of Canterbury

A different Augustine reached Kent in 597 as part of a mission sent by Pope Gregory the Great. He and his companions were welcomed by King Æthelberht, who granted them land outside Canterbury's walls.

The mission led to the foundation of the monastery later known as St Augustine's Abbey. The abbey became a major center of religious life and learning in medieval England before its suppression under Henry VIII.

This second saint helps explain the name's particular medieval English presence. He was not the author of the Confessions: the North African bishop and the missionary to Kent lived in different centuries.

Pronunciation and American use

English has two established pronunciations: AW-guh-steen and aw-GUS-tin. French feminine Augustine is approximately oh-güs-TEEN, with a French u sound that has no exact English equivalent.

For American boys, the count rose from 116 in 2000 to 187 in 2010 and reached its largest recorded total, 549, in 2025. That placed it at No. 545.

Girls have a smaller separate record. Their largest birth count was 84 in 1925, while 38 girls were named Augustine in 2025. The American figures therefore show both sexes, with much stronger recent growth for boys.

How popular is Augustine?

In 2025, Augustine ranked #545 among boys in the United States, with 549 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for boys in 1880; its largest annual count was 549 in 2025. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.