How to say it
au · GUS · tus
/ɔːˈɡʌs.təs/
Masculine
Augustus
Great, venerable
What it means
Latin, 'majestic, venerable, great,' the title taken by Rome's first emperor.
Augustus is Latin for 'venerable' or 'majestic,' the honorific the Roman Senate granted Octavian when he became the first emperor, so thoroughly that it turned into his name and the month August. It reads grand and antique, riding the same revival as Atticus and Atlas, and The Fault in Our Stars gave it the tender Augustus Waters. Gus and Augie are the warm shorts.
Popularity over time
peaked at #175 in 1880, currently #407 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Nickname
Gus and Augie soften it.
- Pop culture
Emperor Augustus, and Augustus Waters of The Fault in Our Stars.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Augustus first Roman emperor, heir of Julius Caesar
- Augustus Waters the lead of The Fault in Our Stars
Spelling variants
- August
- Auguste
- Agustín
Names with the same feeling
See Augustus from another angle
By style