Head to head · Boys' names
Augustine vs Erik
#545 vs #545 in 2025
Augustine and Erik share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#545). The records cannot split them; sound and story will.
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 Erik each lead 2 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, Erik — — Augustine higher
- 1890s: Augustine #738, Erik — — Augustine higher
- 1900s: Augustine #654, Erik — — Augustine higher
- 1910s: Augustine #562, Erik #2477 — Augustine higher
- 1920s: Augustine #498, Erik #2332 — Augustine higher
- 1930s: Augustine #570, Erik #1492 — Augustine higher
- 1940s: Augustine #645, Erik #733 — Augustine higher
- 1950s: Augustine #723, Erik #486 — Erik higher
- 1960s: Augustine #792, Erik #224 — Erik higher
- 1970s: Augustine #858, Erik #89 — Erik higher
- 1980s: Augustine #980, Erik #84 — Erik higher
- 1990s: Augustine #1147, Erik #114 — Erik higher
- 2000s: Augustine #1151, Erik #180 — Erik higher
- 2010s: Augustine #892, Erik #328 — Erik higher
- 2020s: Augustine #609, Erik #462 — Erik higher
Erik stood higher in 8 of 15 decades; Erik has held the lead since the 1950s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Augustine | Erik |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #638 | — |
| 1890s | #738 | — |
| 1900s | #654 | — |
| 1910s | #562 | #2477 |
| 1920s | #498 | #2332 |
| 1930s | #570 | #1492 |
| 1940s | #645 | #733 |
| 1950s | #723 | #486 |
| 1960s | #792 | #224 |
| 1970s | #858 | #89 |
| 1980s | #980 | #84 |
| 1990s | #1147 | #114 |
| 2000s | #1151 | #180 |
| 2010s | #892 | #328 |
| 2020s | #609 | #462 |
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.
Erik
ever-ruler; sole ruler
An Old Norse compound whose first element is read as ever or alone and whose second means ruler. It was a royal name in Denmark, Norway and Sweden for centuries, and the k spelling is the native one in all three.
Eiríkr → Erik
How it traveled
Erik the Ninth of Sweden was killed in eleven sixty and became the country's patron saint. In twenty fourteen a research team opened the reliquary in Uppsala Cathedral and examined the bones.
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.
Erik
EH-rik
Two syllables with the stress at the front. Swedish says it much the same way; the k and the c are identical in sound, which is why the two spellings are one name.
- Rik — The back of the name, said RIK.
- Erkki — The Finnish familiar form of the same name.
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 on the way upup 166 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itAugustine runs 3 syllables, Erik 2
- plenty of nickname options4 recorded short forms — Gus, Auggie and Austin
- a long American recordAugustine was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Erik if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsErik is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesErik is 2 syllables to Augustine's 3
- a newer arrivalErik entered the US charts in 1911
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.
Erik
Strengths
- It is the native spelling across Scandinavia rather than an approximation.
- The meaning is documented and has not shifted.
- Four letters with no silent ones make it quick to write.
To consider
- Eric is commoner in America and will be written for it.
- It has been common for several decades, so a classroom may hold more than one.
- It is recorded for daughters too, though very rarely.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
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 Erik 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 Erik?
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 Erik each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Augustine or Erik — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Augustine or Erik?
- They tie in 2025: Augustine ranked #545 with 549 babies; Erik ranked #545 with 549 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Augustine or Erik?
- Augustine. Over the last five years Augustine moved up 166 places; Erik moved down 123 places.
- Which is the older name, Augustine or Erik?
- Augustine was already in use when US records began in 1880; Erik entered the US charts in 1911. On the American record, Augustine is the older name.
- How many people are named Augustine and Erik?
- About 11,500 people named Augustine are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 147,000 people named Erik are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Augustines or Eriks in the classroom?
- Augustine will almost certainly be the only one in school. Erik 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, Erik and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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