August is nowadays sometimes used as a given name, mainly for girls. As a given name it is probably a simple borrowing from the month of August, by parents who wanted a new "month" name to go with older month names like June, May and April.
However, the month of August itself is named after the title Augustus, which the Roman Emperor Octavian adopted in 27 BC (ie, Augustus Caesar.) It was also used by a number of his successors. Augustus is a Latin adjective meaning "great" or "magnificent."
The names Augustine and Austin are variants of this (and like August, Austin is often used as a surname.) The earlier feminine form was Augusta, but although this name still exists it is now very rare. The original name Augustus is also nearly extinct now. Its usual short form is Gus.
However, the month of August itself is named after the title Augustus, which the Roman Emperor Octavian adopted in 27 BC (ie, Augustus Caesar.) It was also used by a number of his successors. Augustus is a Latin adjective meaning "great" or "magnificent."
The names Augustine and Austin are variants of this (and like August, Austin is often used as a surname.) The earlier feminine form was Augusta, but although this name still exists it is now very rare. The original name Augustus is also nearly extinct now. Its usual short form is Gus.
