Name of the Week: Augustus

 

Origin:

Augustus is a Latin word meaning "venerable, majestic, magnificent, noble." It was a religious term originally, though either to derive from augur -- a religious official in ancient Rome who foretold events by interpreting omens -- or the Old Latin *augos "increase" i.e the 'augmentation of that which is religious'. Augustus first became a name when it was bestowed upon Caius Octavius as an honorary cognomen (an epithet or nickname) by the Roman Senate on January 16, 27 BC after his victory at the battle of Actium. He therefore became Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus [Imperator = Commander; Caesar Divi Filius = Divine Son of Caesar; Augustus = The Venerable] and by 12 BC the sixth month of the Roman calendar (Sextilis) was renamed Augustus (August) in his honor. Afterwards, the cognomen Augustus was adopted by other emperors, and came to mean something akin to "His Majesty" in today's terms. Augusta was similarly bestowed upon women of the Julian line and came to become a title for an empress.

Usage:

As a titular name, Augustus was used by emperors and rulers through the Roman Empire, through the succeeding Byzantine Empire and even into the Middle Ages -- Philip II of France (1165–1223) was known as Philip Augustus, while Sigismund II of Poland (1520–1572) was similarly Sigismund Augustus.  As such, it is difficult to pin down when Augustus was actually used as a given name and not as a title. There is a St Augustus of the sixth century, a friend of St Germanus of Paris, who was abbot of Bourges. It isn't clear whether Augustus was his given name, however, as he is also called Aout -- the French name for the month August -- so Augustus may simply have been a latinisation.  One of the earliest examples we have of Augustus being used as a given name as opposed to a titular name is for Augustus, Elector of Saxony (1526–1588), the son of Henry IV, Duke of Saxony. There are a few other examples of Augustus used in the early 16th century in Britain -- usually in the East of England in Norfolk, Essex and Lincoln -- but overall it was rare at first, gradually gaining more use in the 17th century.  Augustine on the other hand was not uncommon at the time thanks to two warly saints. The name itself was the English form of the Roman name Augustinus meaning "belonging to Augustus" and as such was early on used in Antiquity. Saint Augustine of Hippo (354–430), a Doctor of the Church, was a theologian and philosopher whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity. His fame and veneration helped spread the usage of the name across Europe. In Britain, Augustine was furthered by the popular veneration of Saint Augustine of Canterbury (d. 604), the first Archbishop of Canterbury who is regarded as "Apostle to the English." Augustine became quite a popular name in the Middle Ages, the vernacular for of which was Austin.  The name Augustus was given a significant boost in the 18th century by the new Hanovarian dynasty. When George I succeeded to the British throne in 1714 his son George Augustus became Prince of Wales and later George II.  George II (1683-1760) himself was likely given this second name in honour of his paternal grandfather Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover (1629-1698). The Hanovarians were fond of reusing names, so Augustus (along with George, William, Frederick and Henry) were well used along the royal line.  George II named one son William Augustus [Prince William, Duke of Cumberland (1721–1765)] and also had a grandson with the name: Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of York and Albany (1739-1767).  George III was particularly fond of the name. Five of his nine sons had the name: 1. George Augustus Frederick, Prince of Wales (1762-1830), later King George IV; 2. Frederick Augustus, Duke of York (1763-1827); 3. Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent (1767-1820); 4. Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1771-1851), later King Ernest of Hanover; 5. Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773-1843). With this royal seal of approval it is little wonder that by 1860 Augustus ranked #83 in England and Wales. It remained steady in the middle of the 19th century, ranking #78 in 1870. By the latter half of the century, the name began to wane. It was tied to the Hanoverian age, was no longer being used by royalty and, as with all names, fashion moved on.  Augustus ranked #94 in 1880, #116 in 1890 and #139 in 1900. The name contined in similar use in the first half of the 20th century, but fell into sharp decline by 1940. Only 44 boys were given the name across the whole of the 1940s in England and Wales, a figure which fell to 27 in the 1950s.  Since 1996, Augustus -- having picked up a little use -- has sat steadily between 10 and 30 births per year in England and Wales. Its lowest rank during that period has been #1828 (11 births) in 2008. Its peak was #850 (27 births) in 2005, which coincided with the release of Tim Burton's film adaptation of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, featuring the character Augustus Gloop.  In Scotland, Augustus has only been registered three times since 1974: once in 2000, 2001 and 2005. Similarly, in Northern Ireland, the name was only registered once in 1998 and 2005.  In 2014, Augustus ranked #1486 (16 births) in England and Wales.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Augustus (63 BC–14 AD), the first Roman emperor. * Augustus (1526–1588), Elector of Saxony. * Augustus the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1579–1666), Duke within the Holy Roman Empire. * Augustus II the Strong (1670–1733), King of Poland and Elector of Saxony. * Augustus III of Poland (1696–1763), King of Poland and Elector of Saxony. * Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773–1843), son of George III. * Sir Augustus Wall Callcott (1779–1844), British landscape painter. * Augustus De Morgan (1806–1871), British mathematician. * Augustus Pugin (1812–1852), British architect. * Augustus Volney Waller (1816–1870), British neurophysiologist. * Augustus Thomas (1857–1934), American playwright. * Augustus John (1878–1961), Welsh painter.  Literature and Other Media: * Augustus Waters, a character from John Green's novel The Fault in Our Stars (2012). * Augustus Gloop, a character from Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964).

Variants:

August (German, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Catalan), Auguste (French), Augusto (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese), Avgust (Russian, Ukrainian)

Pronunciation:

or-GUS-təs / ə-GUS-təs [key]

Possible Diminutives:

Augie, Gus, Austin

Sibling Names:

Clementina     Honoria     Thomasina     Seraphina     Henrietta     Rosetta        Maximillian     Tarquin     Constantine     Roderick     Montague     Bertram

Name Lists:

Upright Elegance   Funky-Clunky   Saintly and Stylish   Resonant Roman  Gorgeously Georgian   Victorian Darlings  British Royalty   Dickensian Names  Jane Austen Names  Bronte Names

 

If you like Augustus you may also like:    Augustine, Ferdinand, Algernon, Eustace, Ambrose, Archibald, Cornelius, Octavius, Cassius, Julius

 

Thanks to Kitty for requesting this post.