August
A surname from the personal name August, ultimately tied to Latin Augustus, meaning “venerable” or “majestic.”
The #5,389 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 47,823 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname comes from the given name August, which is the French and German form of Latin Augustus. The Latin word originally meant something like “venerable,” “consecrated,” or “majestic,” and it became strongly associated with the Roman imperial title. In surname use, August would have begun as a name taken from an ancestor’s or parent’s forename.
History
The historical dictionaries place August chiefly as a surname of German and French origin, and note related forms such as Auguste and Augustus. In English-speaking records it appears comparatively late and seems to have been introduced through continental influence rather than long native use. Bardsley also notes that related surname forms such as Augustine and Austin are part of the same wider naming family.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Latin root behind August also gave English the month name August, so the surname shares a pedigree with one of the calendar’s most familiar words.
From the historical record
“AUBERT (Fr.) = Albert, q.v. in Diet. AUGUST (Ger.) \ forms of Lat. Altgustus: see AUGUSTE (Fr.) J under Austin in Diet. BACH (Ger.) Brook [M.H.Ger.bach, O.H.Ger. bah(h] Eng. Bach(e, i Batch, and lA.-Scfeind. Beck. BARRAUD (Fr.) see under Barpat(t' in Diet. BAUER (Ger.) Peasant, Husbandman”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)