Head to head · Boys' names
Augustus vs Hector
#407 vs #409 in 2025
Augustus is a whisker ahead (#407 vs #409 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Augustus is back after a long quiet spell, Hector is holding its place on the charts.
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
On the charts, Augustus leads 3 measures of 6; Hector leads 2.
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: Augustus #213, Hector #672 — Augustus higher
- 1890s: Augustus #258, Hector #695 — Augustus higher
- 1900s: Augustus #341, Hector #690 — Augustus higher
- 1910s: Augustus #414, Hector #607 — Augustus higher
- 1920s: Augustus #494, Hector #512 — Augustus higher
- 1930s: Augustus #570, Hector #420 — Hector higher
- 1940s: Augustus #650, Hector #385 — Hector higher
- 1950s: Augustus #794, Hector #273 — Hector higher
- 1960s: Augustus #971, Hector #242 — Hector higher
- 1970s: Augustus #1213, Hector #192 — Hector higher
- 1980s: Augustus #1376, Hector #176 — Hector higher
- 1990s: Augustus #923, Hector #168 — Hector higher
- 2000s: Augustus #835, Hector #187 — Hector higher
- 2010s: Augustus #574, Hector #292 — Hector higher
- 2020s: Augustus #454, Hector #376 — Hector higher
Hector stood higher in 10 of 15 decades; Hector has held the lead since the 1930s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Augustus | Hector |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #213 | #672 |
| 1890s | #258 | #695 |
| 1900s | #341 | #690 |
| 1910s | #414 | #607 |
| 1920s | #494 | #512 |
| 1930s | #570 | #420 |
| 1940s | #650 | #385 |
| 1950s | #794 | #273 |
| 1960s | #971 | #242 |
| 1970s | #1213 | #192 |
| 1980s | #1376 | #176 |
| 1990s | #923 | #168 |
| 2000s | #835 | #187 |
| 2010s | #574 | #292 |
| 2020s | #454 | #376 |
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
Augustus
Great, venerable, majestic
From the Latin adjective augustus, connected to the verb augere, 'to increase'. It was a word of solemn respect long before it was anyone's name.
augustus (Latin: venerable) → Augustus → Augustinus → Augustine → August
How it traveled
Octavian, the adopted heir of Julius Caesar, was granted the title Augustus by the Roman Senate in 27 BC; it stuck to him so completely that history calls him nothing else, and his successors took it as part of the imperial style. From the title came the personal name, and from the personal name came a whole family: Augustinus, the diminutive, which gave English Augustine and the plainer August.
Hector
holding fast, steadfast
From the Greek Hektor, built on the verb ekhein, to hold or hold fast.
Hektor (Greek) → Hector (Latin, French) → Héctor (Spanish) → Heitor (Portuguese)
How it traveled
The name belongs first to the Iliad, composed in Greek around the eighth century BC, where Hector is the eldest son of Priam and the man who holds Troy together until Achilles kills him. Medieval Europe took him up as one of the Nine Worthies, a set of model heroes ranked alongside Alexander and Caesar, which carried the name into French, Italian and Spanish use.
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
Augustus
uh-GUS-tus
Also said aw-GUS-tus, with the stress always on the middle syllable. Both are standard in American English and neither needs correcting.
- Gus — The default short form for centuries; also stands alone as a given name in its own right.
- Auggie — Also spelled Augie. Common in childhood and among younger bearers.
- August — Used as a semi-formal middle ground, and independently popular as a full name.
- Gussie — An older, more affectionate diminutive, familiar mainly from nineteenth- and early twentieth-century use.
Hector
HEK-ter
In Spanish, Héctor is EK-tor with a silent h and the stress still on the first syllable. Both readings are standard; households that use both often simply switch.
- Heck — The usual English short form, informal and family-only; rarely written down.
- Hec — A spoken clipping among English speakers, informal.
- Tor — Occasional English shortening from the second syllable.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Augustus if you want…
- a name on the way upup 92 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itAugustus runs 3 syllables, Hector 2
Choose Hector if you want…
- a name holding steadyHector is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesHector is 2 syllables to Augustus's 3
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
Augustus
Strengths
- Two thousand years of continuous documented use, from Roman inscriptions to current birth records — it has never needed reintroducing.
- Ready-made short forms in real use: Gus, Auggie, August, each sounding quite different from the others.
- Recognized across German, French, Italian, Spanish and Polish in barely altered spellings, so it travels without translation.
To consider
- Four syllables is a lot of name for a small person, and in practice most Augustuses spend childhood as Gus or Auggie. If you dislike both, the full form alone may be a harder sell than you expect.
- Roald Dahl's Augustus Gloop is a well-known association for anyone raised on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The Fault in Our Stars gave the name a very different young bearer, Augustus Waters, which now competes for the same mental space.
- It sits close to August and Augustine, and people will sometimes reach for the wrong one — expect to clarify which name is on the birth certificate.
Hector
Strengths
- One spelling works in English and Spanish alike — only the accent mark on Héctor changes, and nobody needs it spelled out.
- Documented continuously since Homer, which puts it outside the reach of any single fashion.
- Familiar in most of the world through Ettore, Heitor and Héctor, so it travels without translation.
To consider
- English has a verb to hector, meaning to bully or browbeat. It comes from the name, by way of seventeenth-century London street gangs who styled themselves after the hero. Most people never make the connection, but a reader or teacher occasionally will.
- In the Iliad, Hector is the most sympathetic figure in the poem and also the one who loses. If your family knows the story well, the name carries that ending with it.
- The English and Spanish pronunciations differ enough that a child may spend some years correcting people in one direction or the other — a small, lifelong bit of admin rather than a problem.
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 Augustus and Hector 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 Augustus and Hector?
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 that carry both names
Every list here names both Augustus and Hector — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Augustus or Hector — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Augustus or Hector?
- Augustus, in 2025: Augustus ranked #407 with 783 babies; Hector ranked #409 with 779 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Augustus or Hector?
- Augustus. Over the last five years Augustus moved up 92 places; Hector moved down 44 places.
- Which is the older name, Augustus or Hector?
- The US record cannot say: both were already in use when it began in 1880.
- How many people are named Augustus and Hector?
- About 15,500 people named Augustus are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 97,000 people named Hector are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Augustuss or Hectors in the classroom?
- Augustus will almost certainly be the only one in school. Hector 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
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