Name of the Day: August
It’s summer in the city and while we’re enjoying cooler-than-normal temperatures, it’s impossible to ignore the month on the calendar.
Thanks to Arthur for suggesting August for today’s Name of the Day.
August is one of those names that projects a sort of humble, homespun sensibility despite his lofty origins. Augustus was originally given as a title to the first Emperor of the Roman Empire, Octavian. It comes from the Latin for augere, to increase. The title meant venerated or exalted; even today, august is an adjective implying great dignity and majesty. It may also owe some of its gravitas to the augurs, ancient Roman officials charged with reading the omens and advising leaders.
As a given name, it’s been worn throughout history in a variety of forms. Some honored the emperor, but the most notable bearer was Saint Augustine of Hippo, a 4th century philosopher, theologian and Doctor of the Church. His writing - especially Confessions and The City of God - remain influential more than fifteen centuries later. Fast forward 200 years and you’ll find Saint Augustine of Canterbury preaching to the Saxons in the late 500s. The two popular figures have much to do with the enduring nature of this name.
It’s in use globally. August is used in German, Polish, Swedish and Norwegian, as well as in English. In Czech, French and Romanian, you’ll hear Augustin, though the French also use Auguste. In Italian and Spanish, it loses the first “u” and becomes Agostino and Agustin, respectively.
Regal bearers have included three kings of Poland. But the name is more likely to conjure up artistic achievements. Consider:
- New York Times bestselling author Augusten Burroughs - though he was born Christopher, and adopted Augusten as a pen name;
- Acclaimed playwright and Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson;
- Famed sculptor Auguste Rodin;
- Legendary Impressionist painter Auguste Renoir.
Through the late 19th century, August was a fairly common name in the US. But he declined throughout the 20th century, nearly dropping out of the popularity rankings by 1990. Before August disappeared into oblivion, he executed a slow turnaround. Today he stands at #607.
We suspect August will continue to gain, fueled by fashionable parents. The most visible starbaby is probably Law & Order: SVU’s Mariska Hartigay’s August Miklos Friedrich. Casey Affleck and Summer Phoenix chose it as a middle name for their son, Indiana August.
Another Law & Order alum, Elisabeth Rohm, used August as a middle name for her daughter, Easton August. Therein lies one possible problem with the name - it could be borrowed for the girls.
That potential hiccup aside, should you deliver a son in the next few weeks, you could do worse than borrow the name of his month of birth. Once upon a time, today would be the month of Sextilis; back in the year 8, it was renamed in honor of the Emperor Augustus.
And if August seems like too much name for a small boy, there’s always the friendly - and popular - nickname Gus.
We think August has it all - history, style, a certain international vibe and a down-to-earth appeal, all in one uncommon but familiar package.
Filed under: Names for Boys, Names of the Day, Saints, Starbaby |
Tags: August
I like August. A lot.
To the point that he’s begininng to show up on my own lists. I like his snap and history. He also honors my late mother indirectly, she was born 6 August, 1940. And boy, was she ever THE Leo. 
She might appreciate the nod.
I don’t care that it’s being swiped a bit by the girls, like Kelly, August will forever be masculine to me. But isn’t there some country singer that has a girl August too? *shrug* Don’t care. August feels wrong on a girl and I really don’t think Gussie is cute, despite having a Great Aunt (By marriage) called Gussie for Augusta. I love Gus on a boy and think Augie is cute in a “Augie Doggie” sort of way. In fact, calling a little August, Augie is what *really* makes me smile.
Yep, you nailed August, and I completely concur.
Oh, Lola, August has a pretty high spot on my list too! It’s one of the few names my husband and I can agree on. He tends to like over-the-top, ancient names like Maximus and Apollo. I tend towards softer, more nature inspired names like Hugh and Kai. August is one that appeals to us both.
The movie that was out last year “August March” made me a bit nervous, as I think the name kind of made it’s way into the consciousness of the general public. But, I have yet to meet a little August and I only passingly hear it mentioned.
Such a great name . . .simultaneously handsome and pretty, ancient but perfectly at home in among more modern names. I really adore it.
Oh, Lola, I like Augie, too!
August is pretty high on my list, especially because my husband is Polish. (As in, that’s his first language and most of his family is still there.) It would be effortlessly cross-cultural. Just when I thought I’d landed on the perfect boys’ name, however, he informed me that the trio of Polish kings bearing the name were considered disappointing, not national heroes. He was thinking more of Saint Augustine when he suggested the name.
The other night I had a nightmare that the ultrasound was wrong and baby #2 was a boy. Nothing wrong with that, but for some reason I was in a coma following the birth and my husband completed the birth certificate, and chose the name Ethan Koolio for our son. I woke up in reality just as I woke up in my dreaming - gasping for breath, and stunned that my darling husband would let me down so very, very much.
So I keep boy-name shopping, even though I don’t think we’ll ever need another.
What’s wrong with Ethan?
Not a thing in the world - except that it’s wildly popular, and my husband knows that my least favorite thing about having a son called Alexei is that it’s really too close to Alex, Alexis, Lexi and on and on and on.
I think that’s why my brain offered up Ethan Koolio. I could hear my husband defending it. “But it’s literary! You love Edith Wharton! And I chose a quirky, cross-cultural middle name that ends in o. That’s good, right? I thought you’d like it!”
And I’d be frantically gesturing, while still attached to IVs, saying “But Ethan’s been in the Top Ten since 2002!”
He’d reply, “What? I don’t know anyone called Ethan!” I’d start listing off toddlers and small boys called Ethan that we know, and he would say, “Oh. Yeah.”
Then he’d say, “Well, what about Koolio? You loved that Michelle Pfeiffer movie!”
And I’d sigh and say, “Yeah. But Coolio is spelled with a C.”
“It is?”
I think the female equivalent would be to wake up and discover that he’d named our daughter Emily Reagan or maybe Hannah Graclyn. I’m not married to the kind of guy who would ever come up with Jaidyn Messiah or J’Enyssiah Nevaeh, but I could see him choosing a name that’s SO close to what I would like … and falling short.
You have a son called Ethan, don’t you?
I’ll just be hiding under my dining room table for the rest of the afternoon.
Hey ~DH~ (Nicole, are you? I forget). Where can I find this “August March”? I went to IMDb and can’t find it searching on google either. It’s weird. Would you post a link?
August Rush, maybe? With Freddie Highmore?
Yep, and boy is it a common one. Ethan James. Mr. Average. The problem is that I love classic names for boys, and if you do classic these days, chances are you’ll know a few Jameses, Ethans, Charleses, Williams, etc. But hey, I can look at myself in the mirror without flinching; I did NOT name my son Hayden, Braedon, Caeden, Jaiden, Aidan, or Payton. Meanwhile, we are friends with Leo, Christopher, Charles, & Joseph and don’t seem to run into many doubles at all. I have yet to meet another toddler called Ethan. I wonder how truly popular the name Ethan is when there are so very many ways to spell Jaedyn…
Thanks, Verity. That might have been it. I’ll have to find it at WalMart or Amazon. I read the reviews and yeah, Mr. Holland’s Opus is a fave, so maybe this will be too! (And August has officially made my list: August Milo George, debuting at #4!)
Another, it’s quite true - we know *at least* two boys called Charles, Theodore, Max, Gus and Henry. And James and William! Oh, we know many, many boys called James and William! I don’t know a single Jake, though, so it goes to show that even the most popular names are less common than they once were.
I’m almost finished crunching the Top 1000 boys’ names, but here’s a sneak preview: Ethan drops to #9. He’d have dropped farther, but a handful of Ethens bolstered his ranking. (We know an Ethen. I never dared asked why the alternate spelling.)
What’s interesting about boy names is that crunching the list has been PAINFULLY hard. The rules I used for the girls’ list don’t quite work. Aiden and company are #3, Jayden #4, Caden #16, Brayden #34, Hayden #80. All together, that’s quite the blob. But I think they’re probably too different to count as one name. I counted Isabel and Izabella together without much doubt - but Jack and Jackson? Or Jack, John, Jackson and Jonathan?
My instinct is that there’s a narrower range of sounds used in boys’ names, and so while they appear to be distinct, they sound more similar. Which makes The Classics and the New Classics - James, Christopher, Ethan, George, Zachary, Henry, David - sound a bit more crisp and distinctive, even though they’re not.
I almost fell off my chair when I realized what the #1 name was for boys … add in all the respellings and short forms, and any way you count it, I think it is *probably* Alexander. Hopefully Alexei will not be scarred for life.
Sorry Lola . . . Everett is teething so I’m running on very little sleep and about 10% brain power.
August Rush. That’s the movie. I have no idea who or what August March is or where I came up with that one.
LOL about baby E. Koolio! I think I would be most upset that it’s Koolio spelled with a K. I detest non-traditional spellings.
Nicole, I’m mostly amused by the fact that we both think Coolio has a traditional spelling.
Poor Everett. Hang in there! I’m sending positive baby sleep vibes your way.
Thanks Nicole! I found it and it’s ordered, I should be able to wach it sometime next week!
And definitely hang tough, girl. Josie had a heck of a time with teething herself and I sympathise fully. It does pass, keep your chin up! (hugs)