How to say it
AUS · tin
/ˈɔ.stɪn/
Masculine
Austin
Venerable, majestic
What it means
Medieval English contraction of Augustine, from Latin Augustinus ('belonging to Augustus,' meaning 'venerable'). Saint Augustine of Hippo + Stephen F. Austin (the founder of Texas) anchor the name in two very different traditions.
Austin started as a medieval English contraction of Augustine, from the Latin Augustinus ('belonging to Augustus,' meaning 'venerable, majestic'). Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430), the theologian whose Confessions and City of God shaped Western Christianity, gave the name its religious anchor. The Augustinian order takes its name from him. Stephen F. Austin (1793-1836), the founder of Anglo-American Texas, is the namesake of Austin, Texas, which gave the name its strong US-South association. Austin Powers (Mike Myers's 1997-2002 spy parodies) added the modern pop-culture layer. The name has been in the US top 200 since 1985. Common short: Aus.
Popularity over time
peaked at #9 in 1996, currently #113 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
- Pop culture
Austin, Texas (named for Stephen F. Austin) and Austin Powers (Mike Myers's spy parody) cover two very different US cultural anchors.
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.
- Stephen F. Austin Father of Texas, founder of the Anglo-American settlement
- Saint Augustine of Hippo 4th-5th-century theologian, the original Augustine that Austin contracts from
Spelling variants
- Augustin
- Augustine
Names with the same feeling
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