August
From the Latin name meaning "venerated, consecrated, majestic".
Name Census estimates that about 50,382 living Americans carry the first name August. It sits at #88 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly male name (91.5% of registrations). The average person named August today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of August births was 2024 (4,166 babies). In terms of living bearers, it sits close to Anastasia (50,328).
This page is the full Name Census profile for August. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for August with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
50K
~ 1 in 6,803 Americans
Peak year
2024
4,166 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#88
Tracked since 1880
Census
August in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 32,399 people with the first name August, which placed it at #1,203 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#1,203
National first-name rank
People counted
32K
32,399 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
10.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
73.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for August
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named August is White at 73.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.7%) and Hispanic (7.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name August described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name August at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.0% · 23,644
- Black or African American9.7% · 3,146
- Hispanic or Latino7.7% · 2,493
- Two or more races6.7% · 2,176
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 714
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 226
Gender
Gender distribution for August
August leans heavily male at 91.5% of total registrations, but 5,998 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
August as a male name
- Ranked #88 in 2024
- 3,876 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (3,876 births)
August as a female name
- Ranked #910 in 2024
- 290 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (328 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, August leans strongly male. 28,387 people counted with this name were male (87.6%), compared with 4,014 female bearers (12.4%).
Popularity
August: popularity over time
The SSA tracks August from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 17,902 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
August by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name August during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Augusts live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named August, while Wyoming, Delaware, Vermont recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,138 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of August
The name August has its origins in the Latin language and dates back to ancient Roman times. It is derived from the Latin word "augustus", which means "consecrated" or "venerable". This name was originally used as a title bestowed upon the first Roman emperor, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, by the Roman Senate in 27 BC.
The month of August was later named after this esteemed emperor to honor him. Prior to this, the month was called Sextilis, as it was the sixth month in the ancient Roman calendar. The transition to the name August solidified the emperor's legacy and cemented his place in history.
One of the earliest notable figures to bear the name August was Augustus Caesar, the first Roman emperor who ruled from 27 BC to 14 AD. He ushered in the Pax Romana, a period of relative peace and stability in the Roman Empire, and oversaw significant cultural and infrastructural developments.
Another prominent historical figure with the name August was August the Strong, born in 1670, who was the Elector of Saxony and later became the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. He is renowned for his lavish lifestyle, patronage of the arts, and his contributions to the architectural wonders of Dresden.
In the realm of literature, August Wilson, born in 1945 and died in 2005, was a renowned African American playwright who won numerous accolades, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His works, such as "Fences" and "The Piano Lesson", poignantly explored the experiences of African Americans in the 20th century.
August Strindberg, born in 1849 and died in 1912, was a Swedish playwright, novelist, and essayist who is considered a pioneer of modern theater. His plays, such as "Miss Julie" and "The Dance of Death", explored themes of class conflict, gender roles, and the human condition with remarkable depth and insight.
August Bebel, born in 1840 and died in 1913, was a German socialist politician and writer who played a pivotal role in the development of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. He championed workers' rights, women's suffrage, and social reforms, leaving a lasting impact on the German political landscape.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name August, a name with rich historical roots and associations with power, reverence, and cultural significance.
People
August + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with August as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
August: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named August?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 50,382 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for August going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 6,803 US residents.
Is August a common name?
We classify August as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 70,192 babies have been registered with this name.
When was August most popular?
The single biggest year for August was 2024, when 4,166 babies received the name. The fact that the average living August is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was August in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 32,399 people with the name August, or 10.73 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,203 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name August in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for August?
In the 2020 Census sex table, August leans strongly male. 28,387 people counted with this name were male (87.6%), compared with 4,014 female bearers (12.4%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named August?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named August is White at 73.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.7%) and Hispanic (7.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name August most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named August in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.0% (23,644 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name August in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is August a male name?
Yes, 91.5% of people registered as August in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is August still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded August in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like August can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name August?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named August on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.