Head to head · Boys' names
Augustus vs Leandro
#407 vs #406 in 2025
Leandro is a whisker ahead (#406 vs #407 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Leandro is climbing the charts fast, Augustus 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: Augustus and Leandro 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: Augustus #213, Leandro — — Augustus higher
- 1890s: Augustus #258, Leandro — — Augustus higher
- 1900s: Augustus #341, Leandro #1256 — Augustus higher
- 1910s: Augustus #414, Leandro #2100 — Augustus higher
- 1920s: Augustus #494, Leandro #1765 — Augustus higher
- 1930s: Augustus #570, Leandro #1391 — Augustus higher
- 1940s: Augustus #650, Leandro #1524 — Augustus higher
- 1950s: Augustus #794, Leandro #1584 — Augustus higher
- 1960s: Augustus #971, Leandro #1421 — Augustus higher
- 1970s: Augustus #1213, Leandro #1438 — Augustus higher
- 1980s: Augustus #1376, Leandro #1569 — Augustus higher
- 1990s: Augustus #923, Leandro #1585 — Augustus higher
- 2000s: Augustus #835, Leandro #1042 — Augustus higher
- 2010s: Augustus #574, Leandro #755 — Augustus higher
- 2020s: Augustus #454, Leandro #538 — Augustus higher
Augustus stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Augustus | Leandro |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #213 | — |
| 1890s | #258 | — |
| 1900s | #341 | #1256 |
| 1910s | #414 | #2100 |
| 1920s | #494 | #1765 |
| 1930s | #570 | #1391 |
| 1940s | #650 | #1524 |
| 1950s | #794 | #1584 |
| 1960s | #971 | #1421 |
| 1970s | #1213 | #1438 |
| 1980s | #1376 | #1569 |
| 1990s | #923 | #1585 |
| 2000s | #835 | #1042 |
| 2010s | #574 | #755 |
| 2020s | #454 | #538 |
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.
Leandro
lion man
From Greek leon, "lion", joined to the stem of aner/andros, "man" — sometimes rendered "lion of a man".
Leandros → Leander → Leandro
How it traveled
The Greek Leandros belongs to one of the oldest love stories in European literature: Leander swam the strait each night to reach Hero, a priestess of Aphrodite, steering by the lamp she held in her tower, and drowned the night the light went out. The tale was retold by Ovid in the Heroides and again by Christopher Marlowe in the sixteenth century, which kept the name in print through centuries when it was rarely given.
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.
Leandro
lay-AHN-droh
That is the Spanish, Portuguese and Italian pronunciation. English speakers often say lee-AN-droh, and both are widely accepted; the stress falls on the middle syllable either way.
- Leo — The most common short form in English and Spanish alike; also a full given name in its own right.
- Lea — Heard in Brazilian Portuguese as a clipped familiar form, used at home rather than on paperwork.
- Leandrito — Spanish diminutive, affectionate and used mostly by family in childhood.
- Lele — Informal Italian and Brazilian shortening, spoken more than written.
- Also Andro.
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 long American recordAugustus was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 30% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 54% for Leandro
Choose Leandro if you want…
- a name on the way upup 239 places on the charts in five years
- a newer arrivalLeandro entered the US charts in 1906
- a name that feels very nowLeandro is climbing the charts fast
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.
Leandro
Strengths
- Works unchanged in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, so it travels across those languages without respelling or translation.
- Comes with Leo already attached — a short form in real use and a standalone name people know.
- Spelled the way it sounds in both English and Spanish; the letters offer no traps.
To consider
- It has two accepted pronunciations, the Spanish lay-AHN-droh and the anglicized lee-AN-droh. Most Leandros end up correcting one or the other, usually with a shrug rather than a fight.
- Outside Spanish-, Portuguese- and Italian-speaking circles it is still unfamiliar enough that he will often be the one explaining it, and it gets confused with Leander, Leonardo and the feminine Leandra.
- The myth behind the name ends in a drowning. Nobody hears that in the sound of it, but it is there if someone goes looking.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Augustus
30%chance Augustus feels dated by 2040
Augustus 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.
Leandro
54%chance Leandro feels dated by 2040
Leandro 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 Augustus and Leandro 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 Leandro?
Put both to the vote.
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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 Leandro — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Augustus or Leandro — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Augustus or Leandro?
- Leandro, in 2025: Leandro ranked #406 with 785 babies; Augustus ranked #407 with 783 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Augustus or Leandro?
- Leandro. Over the last five years Augustus moved up 92 places; Leandro moved up 239 places.
- Which is the older name, Augustus or Leandro?
- Augustus was already in use when US records began in 1880; Leandro entered the US charts in 1906. On the American record, Augustus is the older name.
- How many people are named Augustus and Leandro?
- About 15,500 people named Augustus are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 10,000 people named Leandro are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Augustuss or Leandros in the classroom?
- Augustus will almost certainly be the only one in school. Leandro 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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