Head to head · Boys' names
Augustine vs Azriel
#545 vs #529 in 2025
Azriel is a whisker ahead (#529 vs #545 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Azriel is climbing the charts fast, Augustine is back after a long quiet spell.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Augustine and Azriel each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Augustine #638, Azriel — — Augustine higher
- 1890s: Augustine #738, Azriel — — Augustine higher
- 1900s: Augustine #654, Azriel — — Augustine higher
- 1910s: Augustine #562, Azriel — — Augustine higher
- 1920s: Augustine #498, Azriel — — Augustine higher
- 1930s: Augustine #570, Azriel — — Augustine higher
- 1940s: Augustine #645, Azriel — — Augustine higher
- 1950s: Augustine #723, Azriel — — Augustine higher
- 1960s: Augustine #792, Azriel — — Augustine higher
- 1970s: Augustine #858, Azriel #4659 — Augustine higher
- 1980s: Augustine #980, Azriel #5435 — Augustine higher
- 1990s: Augustine #1147, Azriel #5369 — Augustine higher
- 2000s: Augustine #1151, Azriel #2286 — Augustine higher
- 2010s: Augustine #892, Azriel #1570 — Augustine higher
- 2020s: Augustine #609, Azriel #762 — Augustine higher
Augustine stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Augustine | Azriel |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #638 | — |
| 1890s | #738 | — |
| 1900s | #654 | — |
| 1910s | #562 | — |
| 1920s | #498 | — |
| 1930s | #570 | — |
| 1940s | #645 | — |
| 1950s | #723 | — |
| 1960s | #792 | — |
| 1970s | #858 | #4659 |
| 1980s | #980 | #5435 |
| 1990s | #1147 | #5369 |
| 2000s | #1151 | #2286 |
| 2010s | #892 | #1570 |
| 2020s | #609 | #762 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Augustine
venerable, majestic
Latin Augustinus is a diminutive of Augustus, the title meaning 'venerable, consecrated, majestic', from augere, 'to increase'.
Augustus → Augustinus → Augustine → Austin
How it traveled
The name begins as Latin Augustinus, a diminutive of Augustus — the honorific taken by Rome's first emperor and by every emperor after him. Christianity carried it far past Rome: Augustine of Hippo in North Africa in the fourth and fifth centuries, and Augustine of Canterbury, sent to England in 597, made it a churchman's name across Western Europe.
Azriel
God is my help
From Hebrew ezer, "help", and El, "God". The same root sits inside Ezra and Azariah, which is why the three names often turn up in the same families.
עַזְרִיאֵל (Azri'el, Hebrew) → Ezriel → Azriel
How it traveled
The name is Hebrew and biblical. Azriel appears in the book of Jeremiah as the father of Seraiah, and twice in Chronicles — once as a clan chief of Manasseh, once as a father of an officer under David — never as a major figure, always as a name someone already had.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Augustine
aw-GUS-tin
Also said AW-gus-teen, the form usual in Britain and in the name of St. Augustine, Florida. Both are established in American English, so expect to correct people either way.
- Gus — The most common short form; also stands alone as a given name and is shared with Augustus and Gustav.
- Auggie — Informal, often used in childhood; sometimes spelled Augie.
- Austin — Historically the contracted English form of the same name, now overwhelmingly used as an independent given name and surname.
- Tino — Informal short form carried over from Spanish Agustín.
Azriel
AZ-ree-el
American English usually stresses the first syllable. Hebrew puts the weight at the end — ahz-ree-EL — and both are heard in families that use the name.
- Az — The most direct short form, informal, used by friends and siblings.
- Ari — Common shortening in Hebrew-speaking and Jewish families; also a standalone given name in its own right.
- Azzy — Playful, mostly used in early childhood.
- Riel — Less common; takes the tail of the name rather than the head.
- Also Z.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Augustine if you want…
- a name fewer children share#545 in 2025 — augustine will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name with more sound in itAugustine runs 3 syllables, Azriel 2
- a long American recordAugustine was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 30% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 58% for Azriel
Choose Azriel if you want…
- a name most people already know#529 in 2025, 566 babies that year
- a name on the way upup 594 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesAzriel is 2 syllables to Augustine's 3
- a newer arrivalAzriel entered the US charts in 1972
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Augustine
Strengths
- Two well-worn short forms, Gus and Auggie, both in real use for generations.
- A spelling nearly everyone can read, thanks to the saint, the Florida city and the Confessions.
- An unbroken written record from Roman antiquity to the present, with no gap in use.
To consider
- Two accepted pronunciations, aw-GUS-tin and AW-gus-teen, means a lifetime of small clarifications — worth deciding early which one your family uses.
- The religious weight is real. For many people the name means the bishop of Hippo first, which some families love and others would rather not carry.
- Four syllables on paper, and most people will reach for Gus or Auggie in daily life. If you dislike either, that is useful to know now.
Azriel
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds: a reader who has never met the name can usually say it on the first try.
- A documented biblical name with a continuous record in Jewish use, rather than a recent coinage.
- Works in English and Spanish with the same spelling and nearly the same sound.
To consider
- Azrael, one letter apart, is the name given to the angel of death in later Jewish mystical and Islamic tradition — and to a cartoon cat. Expect the occasional raised eyebrow, and expect to correct the spelling.
- It is close enough to Azariah, Asriel and Ezriel that some people will hear or write the wrong one. Repeating it slowly usually settles the matter.
- The name is rising rather than settled, so a child named Azriel will likely be the only one in a classroom now, while meeting more namesakes as their own generation grows up.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Augustine
30%chance Augustine feels dated by 2040
Augustine is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
Azriel
58%chance Azriel feels dated by 2040
Azriel is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Augustine and Azriel in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Augustine and Azriel?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Vintage names making a comeback
- Grandmother-chic: 1920s names ready to return
- Nine-letter names, the long end of the chart
- The longest comebacks in the records
- all guides
Where Augustine and Azriel each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Augustine or Azriel — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Augustine or Azriel?
- Azriel, in 2025: Azriel ranked #529 with 566 babies; Augustine ranked #545 with 549 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Augustine or Azriel?
- Azriel. Over the last five years Augustine moved up 166 places; Azriel moved up 594 places.
- Which is the older name, Augustine or Azriel?
- Augustine was already in use when US records began in 1880; Azriel entered the US charts in 1972. On the American record, Augustine is the older name.
- How many people are named Augustine and Azriel?
- About 11,500 people named Augustine are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 4,000 people named Azriel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Augustines or Azriels in the classroom?
- Augustine will almost certainly be the only one in school. Azriel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Augustine, Azriel and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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