How popular is the baby name Augustine in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Augustine.

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Popularity of the baby name Augustine


Posts that mention the name Augustine

Baby name needed: Girl name for Finlay’s sister

A reader named Jennifer has a daughter named Finlay Augustine and is now expecting another baby girl. Here’s what she says:

I would prefer to stay in the Irish or Scottish tradition, but am open. We are considering Evangeline Fae, Raleigh Fiona, and Maevy with either Fae or Fiona as a middle name. But I am open to suggestions. I don’t want a first name that begins with F and I don’t want anything too trendy or that would be difficult for others to spell or pronounce. I’m hoping the perfect name falls out of the sky before the baby comes!

Here are my thoughts on the current contenders:

Evangeline Fae
I like how the combination reminds me of Finlay Augustine in a very subtle way. But the first names on their own are so stylistically different that they might seem mismatched. (Would a nickname be used for Evangeline?)

Raleigh Fiona
Raleigh is a name I rarely see. I think it works well with Finley. The second syllables do sound alike, so there’s a bit of an echo, but that’s my only criticism.

Maevy Fae/Maevy Fiona
I’m so used to seeing Maeve that Maevy caught me off guard. (Not in a good way, to be honest.) And I don’t care for way the v and f sounds are so close together. Maevy would be my last choice of the three.

Here are ten other names I think Jennifer might like. These first 7 are not in the U.S. top 1,000 right now:

*Moira/Maura – Anglicized versions of the Irish form of Mary.

*Keeva – Simplified (and very modern-looking) form of the Irish name Caoimhe, meaning “loveliness.” It’s another v-sound, though, so might not sound terrific next to an f-name.

*Aisling – Irish vocabulary word (meaning “fantasy” or “dream”) that later became a name. The first syllable is pronounced “ash,” so this one will sound trendy (like Ashley, Ashlyn) without technically being trendy.

*Orla – Simplified form of an Irish name that means “golden princess.” Always reminds me of Isla (eye-la), but it’s less popular and easier to pronounce.

*Talulla (nn Lulu?) – Simplified form of an Irish name meaning “abundance princess.” It’s on the long side, like Evangeline, but doesn’t sound as formal.

*Maisie – Diminutive of the Scottish form of Margaret. It’s trendy across the pond, but not over here.

*Darcy – English surname that could mean a few things, including “from Arcy” (in Normandy, France). Was more common during the late ’60s and early ’70s.

And these last 3 are in the top 1,000, but wouldn’t be considered trendy:

*Tara – Irish place name that later became a name. Was trendy in the ’70s and ’80s, but has been decreasing in popularity ever since.

*Caitlin – Irish version of Katherine. Was most popular in the ’80s and ’90s, but has slowly been falling out of favor since then.

*Rory – Form of a (traditionally male) Scottish name derived from the Scottish word for red, ruadh. Has only popped up in the top 1,000 a handful of times.

What are your thoughts on Jennifer’s current favorites? What other names would you suggest for Finlay’s little sister?

Boy names beyond the top 1,000 of 2009

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Kelly recently clued me in to something extremely cool: the SSA has released lists of all the baby names that were given to 5+ babies in the U.S. every year since 1880. You can download the lists directly from the SSA.

I was going to publish all of the 2009 names here in a single post, but WordPress couldn’t handle it. So instead I’ll start where the top 1,000 left off and give you all the names that were given to 100+ babies last year.

Let’s start with boy names. The 1,000th most popular boy name last year was Mustafa, given to 194 babies. After Mustafa comes…

  • 193: Eddy, Edison, Jovany, Rayden, Ulysses
  • 192: Cordell, Leroy
  • 191: Brecken, Clarence, Dimitri, Immanuel, Nathanial
  • 190: Benson, Coby, Jedidiah, Joziah, Legend, Yehuda
  • 189: Kohen, Milton
  • 188: Brennon, Jayvon, Pierre, Sheldon, Simeon
  • 187: Bernard, Donavan, Taj, Thaddeus
  • 186: Eliseo
  • 185: Kamren, Kelton
  • 184: Jacobi, Rocky, Theo
  • 183: none
  • 182: Braylin, Turner
  • 181: Jaylan, Yousef
  • 180: Cristobal, Marcello, Maximillian, Santana
  • 179: Anish, Dariel, Gaven, Gordon, Lamont
  • 178: Darion, Daylen, Ephraim, Joan
  • 177: Domenic, Harvey, Javen, Major, Miller
  • 176: none
  • 175: Gibson, Iker, Johann
  • 174: Bishop, Glenn
  • 173: Cayson, Leif, Leighton, Lionel, Rishi
  • 172: Braedyn, Gonzalo, Jericho, Langston, Treyton
  • 171: Armaan, Jesiah, Lathan, Marquez, Menachem, Oswaldo, Truman
  • 170: Andreas, Estevan, Kooper, Reilly, Ryley
  • 169: Kamarion
  • 168: Coen, Eliot, Hank, Kyan, Markell, Miguelangel, Mikah, Otto
  • 167: Dion, Landry, Marques
  • 166: Anson, Geovanny, Jaedyn, Jai, Jullian, Maxton
  • 165: Aleksander, Bernardo, Channing, Darrius, Destin, Emory, Hendrix, Tayden
  • 164: Ameer, Dereck, Dwight, Enoch, Forrest, Nazir, Stephan
  • 163: Cornelius, Lucca, Mikel, Shimon, Tyce, Yisroel
  • 162: Carmine, Dontae, Jaleel, Keanu, Lennox, Shiloh
  • 161: Augustine, Dhruv, Perry
  • 160: Colter, Eamon, Thiago
  • 159: Boden, Presley, Rowen, Tegan, Treyvon
  • 158: Jan, Kenji, Zakary, Zyon
  • 157: Adin, Baron, Maksim, Nestor, Norman, Sammy
  • 156: Corban, Drayden, Ely, Mariano, Shamar, Tavion
  • 155: Arlo, Garret, Jamil, Keven, Shea, Vladimir, Zaden
  • 154: Elvin, Gannon, Guadalupe, Kavion, Kayleb, Kylen
  • 153: Camdyn, Devonte, Jael, Karim, Koby, Mayson, Nixon, Trenten
  • 152: Deshaun, Kenton, Milan, Siddharth
  • 151: Alexavier, Arman, Kannon, Lachlan, Zeke
  • 150: Abner, Arian, Efren, Jariel, Javian, Jordin
  • 149: Alexandro, Dandre, Francesco, Izaac, Kalvin, Stephon
  • 148: Amarion, Bayron, Caeden, Dewayne, Kennedy, Mordechai
  • 147: Alton, Bilal, Geoffrey, Jermiah, Kye, Lucien, Neel, Om, Tavin
  • 146: Barry, Beck, Blayne, Campbell, Ever, Gino, Haven, Ishan
  • 145: Benny, Brad, Emil
  • 144: Austen, Austyn, Briggs, Canaan, Crew, Dev, Emmitt, Guy, Jakub, Jarvis, Shannon, Trevion
  • 143: Clifford, Keller, Travon
  • 142: Kyree, Markel, Merrick
  • 141: Aarush, Ajay, Denis
  • 140: Aubrey, Daveon, Harlan, Sami, Sebastien
  • 139: Bryton, Clyde, Kelly, Khalid, Landan, Shlomo
  • 138: Bodhi, Briar, Fredy, Irving, Kalen, Rylen, Sabastian, Taven
  • 137: Baylor, Brantley, Chayse, Courtney, Cristiano, Dallin, Earl, Fidel, Jeshua, Judson, Korey, Lonnie, Marek, Oakley, Trae
  • 136: Anders, Coy
  • 135: Chevy, Cian, Don, Ewan, Jordy, Nery, Oskar, Ridge, Tatum, Vince
  • 134: Avi, Dezmond, Masen, Princeton, Syed, Tahj, Tristyn, Tylan
  • 133: Daryl, Johnpaul, Karsen, Kurt, Wilmer, Xavion
  • 132: Britton, Grayden, Rowdy, Tevin, Yahya
  • 131: Brandt, Clifton, Evin, Finnian, Gian, Kaidyn
  • 130: Coleton, Denver, Freddie, Gianluca, Jaren, Korbyn, Phineas, Yash
  • 129: Alexandre, Grey, Haden, Jakari, Leeland, Lloyd, Titan
  • 128: Alek, Aven, Ayan, Terence
  • 127: Bowen, Desean, Jeff, Jonatan, Kevon, Kollin, Lucius, Malakhi
  • 126: Demetri, Gerard, Hagen, Jaedon, Jaheim, Jeremias, Raymundo
  • 125: Avraham, Heriberto, Ira, Lester, Stetson, Tye
  • 124: Abdul, Arnold, Bodie, Broden, Canyon, Edmund, Gus, Keandre, Latrell, Rico, Shmuel
  • 123: Amar, Azariah, Braulio, Ervin, Otis
  • 122: Ayush, Brighton, Dyllan, Kent, Magnus, Myron, Nate, Nevin, Ramses, Torin
  • 121: Brysen, Daquan, Donnie, Jakai, Josef, Keyshawn, Mauro, Morris, Raheem, Rian, Rickey, Royal, Thatcher, Yaakov
  • 120: Benicio, Bryden, Colson, Emir, Fred, Izaak, Kurtis, Osmar, Sutton
  • 119: Harris, Jet, Juancarlos, Omarion, Rashawn, Treyson, Zahir
  • 118: Abhinav, Benito, Brooklyn, Leyton, Mikhail, Viktor
  • 117: Anakin, Darey, Duane, Johnnie, Kegan, Mikael, Osman, Pierson, Talen
  • 116: Azael, Dashiell, Devlin, Diesel, Dylon, Giovany, Jameer, Javien, Jaylyn, Kiran, Marion, Massimo, Obed
  • 115: Amauri, Deion, Gerson, Ishmael, Jarell, Nikita, Xavi
  • 114: Dan, Foster, Glen, Kaysen, Kyran, Rayyan, Tariq, Tiago, Tzvi
  • 113: Arya, Isidro, Kaison, Musa, Syncere, Uziel, Vihaan, Yariel
  • 112: Amani, Andrei, Carlton, Dameon, Demari, Deonte, Joseluis, Justyn, Karon, Manny, Neal, Patricio, Sahil, Shaan, Shayne, Stuart, Tobin, Vernon
  • 111: Damarcus, Darrin, Daylon, Hussein, Isac, Lazaro, Tyron, Zev
  • 110: Aayan, Angus, Benton, Brayson, Darrion, Jacorey, Kirk, Lyndon, Yurem
  • 109: Dashaun, Dayne, Jaysen, Jayven, Josias, Kaedyn, Linus, Maddix, Zephaniah
  • 108: Ahmir, Antwon, Deondre, Hans, Jahir, Khristian, Nolen, Rogan, Shia, Teegan
  • 107: Braydin, Clint, Daron, Gabe, Graysen, Jacari, Kain, Kayne, Khamari, Louie, Tavian, Trever, Westley, Zakaria
  • 106: Daylin, Eliel, Filip, Jahmir, Javonte, Kamdyn, Koda, Mykel, Rick, Zayd
  • 105: Canon, Darin, Gregorio, Kaine
  • 104: Adyn, Cadence, Chayce, Demarco, Eliyahu, Javin, Jimmie, Karsten, Ken, Travion, Xavior
  • 103: Atreyu, Ismail, Jackie, Kahlil, Marko, Paolo
  • 102: Athan, Christofer, Eleazar, Floyd, Henrik, Hyrum, Idris, Isael, Jamaal, Jelani, Kentrell, Maison
  • 101: Ashtyn, Emmet, Izak, Jaelyn, Jakobi, Jayshawn, Keshaun
  • 100: Achilles, Avrohom, Brant, Corbyn, Cormac, Imran, Javan, Kris, Osiel, Yaseen

Girl names coming soon!

Update: Here are the girl names.

Image: Adapted from Scattered stars in Sagittarius by ESA/Hubble under CC BY 4.0.

Baby name needed: Libertarian boy name for first baby

Last week, a reader named Julie sent me a fascinating e-mail:

My husband and I are trying to figure out what we want to name our first child. We have a girl’s name (Darby) but a boy would be a real problem.

The name he really really wants is Hayek (after 18th century economist – Friedrich Augustus Hayek – surely you’ve heard of him…no? really?).

He also likes “T”. Just the letter. Perfect because it works for a boy OR a girl.

His third option is Atlas from Atlas Shrugged.

I am not a fan of any of these. I am looking for a name that’s not super-traditional, but also isn’t on the Top 100 names list. I also think it’s unfair to give the child a name they constantly have to spell/pronounce/explain.

Our last name starts with an “M” and ends in a “ee” sound, so names that also end in the “ee” sound sing-songy.

Julie tried giving her husband the following list of names: Archer, Barrett, Campbell, Dexter, Dixon, Duncan, Everett, Felix, Fletcher, Flint, Ford, Gardner, Garrett, Gibson, Grady, Griffin, Holt, Langston, Leo, Lincoln, Marshall, Parker, Powell, Quentin, Tate, Weston, Zane. He didn’t care for any of them.

This is a tricky situation, but I think there’s a bright side. Julie and her husband seem to be looking at baby names from two different angles. Julie’s husband is focusing on significance, while Julie is more concerned about style. This is a good thing; I’m sure there are names out there that could satisfy both of them.

I think best way to tackle this would be to start with the more constrictive angle–significance. I’d say collect as many meaningful names as possible, then look for stylish names among them. That way, both parents get something they like.

I don’t know Julie’s husband, so I can’t say for certain what names he’d find meaningful. But I can make inferences based on his current top three. Here are some ideas:

1. Hayek

  • How about variants of Hayek’s first or middle name? Friedrich could be Frederick, Fred or Fritz. August could be Augustine, Gus or Austin.
  • Hayek chose the name Laurence Joseph Heinrich for his own son. Would any of those work?
  • I think many people will assume that Hayek was inspired by actress Salma Hayek. Is Julie’s husband okay with that association?
  • What other economists does Julie’s husband admire? Would any of their names work as a baby name?

2. T

  • I can’t say much about this one, but I wonder: Does it stand for anything? If there’s a story behind it, what other (more traditional) names could be teased out of that story?

3. Atlas

  • I think several characters in Atlas Shrugged would be good symbols of the book itself. (Even better than “Atlas,” which is more likely to make people think of myths or maps.)
    • John Galt. The name John probably won’t appeal to Julie, but what about Galt? (Galt isn’t far from Holt, which is on Julie’s list.)
    • Hank Rearden. Henry, like John, could be too popular/traditional for Julie’s tastes. But Rearden might work.
    • Dagny Taggart, the female protagonist. Taggart could be a cool name. Nickname could be Tag. (Or even T!)
    • Ellis Wyatt, Quentin Daniels and Hugh Akston are minor characters with good names. In fact, Quentin is already on Julie’s list. (Maybe Julie’s husband would like it more if he were reminded about the Rand reference?)
  • How about an author-inspired name? Randall, Randolph or even Rand itself.
  • What other writers and philosophers does Julie’s husband admire? Would any of their names (or character names) work as a baby name? What about other book titles?

Finally, if Julie and her husband can’t come to an agreement on the first name, I’d suggest a compromise using the middle name. Perhaps one of Julie’s names could come first, then Hayek or T or Atlas could come second.

What other ideas would you offer Julie?

60 Unique male saint names: Ariston, Cassian, Conon, Fintan…

You’re looking for a cool, uncommon saint name…but you haven’t had much luck.

Augustine’s not up your alley. Francis is too old fashioned. And how many people are really going to get “Aloysius” right on the first try?

I scoured the Roman Martyrology for 60 male saint names that might appeal to modern parents.

Because nearly all of the names refer to multiple saints, I didn’t bother with extra details like feast days. I did throw in a few nickname ideas, though.

  1. St. Alban.
  2. St. Amand, also known as Amandus.
  3. St. Ammon.
  4. St. Ananias.
  5. St. Ariston. Riston, Aris, Ari.
  6. St. Attalus.
  7. St. Audax, which means “daring, bold” in Latin. Dax, Audy.
  8. St. Azarias.
  9. St. Bretannio. Bret, Bretan.
  10. St. Cassian. Cash.
  11. St. Colman. Cole.
  12. St. Columban.
  13. St. Conon
  14. St. Corebus. Cory.
  15. St. Cyrion.
  16. St. Damasus.
  17. St. Davinus. Dave, Davy, Davin.
  18. St. Domitian. Dom.
  19. St. Emilian. Emil.
  20. St. Fintan. Fin.
  21. St. Galdinus, or the Italian form Galdino.
  22. St. Gavinus. Gavin.
  23. St. Gereon. Gerry.
  24. St. Gerinus. Gerry, Gerin.
  25. St. Gordian. Gordy.
  26. St. Hadrian…nope, not the Roman Emperor. Different guy.
  27. St. Ignatius. Nate, Iggy.
  28. St. Kilian, also spelled Killian.
  29. St. Leander. Andy, Lee.
  30. St. Leontius. Leon, Leo.
  31. St. Macarius. Mac.
  32. St. Magnus.
  33. St. Malchus. Mal.
  34. St. Marcellin. Marcel, Marce.
  35. St. Marcellus. Marcel, Marce.
  36. St. Maxentius. Max.
  37. St. Maximian. Max.
  38. St. Mellitus. Mel.
  39. St. Nazarius. Naz.
  40. St. Nicander. Nic, Andy.
  41. St. Nicanor. Nic.
  42. St. Nilus.
  43. St. Octavian. Tavian, Tave, Tavy.
  44. St. Remigius, or the French form Rémy. Remi.
  45. St. Romulus, or the Italian form Romolo. Rom, Romy.
  46. St. Sabbas, also spelled Sabas.
  47. St. Sennen.
  48. St. Sergius, or the more familiar form Sergio. Serge.
  49. St. Severin. Sev.
  50. St. Straton.
  51. St. Swithin.
  52. St. Theonas. Theo.
  53. St. Thrason.
  54. St. Thyrsus.
  55. St. Timon. Tim, Timmy.
  56. St. Tryphon.
  57. St. Tychon.
  58. St. Valens. Val.
  59. St. Verian.
  60. St. Zenas. Zen.

Killian is the only saint name on the list that has ranked among the top 1,000 baby names in the nation within the last 100 years. (The single-L version has never ranked, though.)

Did you see any names you liked?

And, do you know of any good ones that I missed?

Update, June 2014: Just posted about another unique male saint name, Cono.