Head to head · Boys' names
Augustus vs Remy
#407 vs #408 in 2025
Augustus is a whisker ahead (#407 vs #408 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Augustus is back after a long quiet spell, Remy 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 6 measures of 6; Remy leads 0.
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, Remy — — Augustus higher
- 1890s: Augustus #258, Remy — — Augustus higher
- 1900s: Augustus #341, Remy — — Augustus higher
- 1910s: Augustus #414, Remy #3154 — Augustus higher
- 1920s: Augustus #494, Remy #3387 — Augustus higher
- 1930s: Augustus #570, Remy #3662 — Augustus higher
- 1940s: Augustus #650, Remy #3370 — Augustus higher
- 1950s: Augustus #794, Remy #2905 — Augustus higher
- 1960s: Augustus #971, Remy #2821 — Augustus higher
- 1970s: Augustus #1213, Remy #3437 — Augustus higher
- 1980s: Augustus #1376, Remy #2099 — Augustus higher
- 1990s: Augustus #923, Remy #1470 — Augustus higher
- 2000s: Augustus #835, Remy #1297 — Augustus higher
- 2010s: Augustus #574, Remy #629 — Augustus higher
- 2020s: Augustus #454, Remy #378 — Remy higher
Augustus stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Remy took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Augustus | Remy |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #213 | — |
| 1890s | #258 | — |
| 1900s | #341 | — |
| 1910s | #414 | #3154 |
| 1920s | #494 | #3387 |
| 1930s | #570 | #3662 |
| 1940s | #650 | #3370 |
| 1950s | #794 | #2905 |
| 1960s | #971 | #2821 |
| 1970s | #1213 | #3437 |
| 1980s | #1376 | #2099 |
| 1990s | #923 | #1470 |
| 2000s | #835 | #1297 |
| 2010s | #574 | #629 |
| 2020s | #454 | #378 |
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.
Remy
oarsman, rower
From Latin Remigius, built on remex, remigis — the man at the oar. The saint's fame in Gaul, not the word itself, is what carried the name forward.
Remigius → Rémi → Rémy → Remy
How it traveled
The Latin Remigius belonged most famously to the bishop of Reims who died around 533 and who baptized the Frankish king Clovis, an event that anchored the name in northern France for good. Medieval French wore it down to Rémi and Rémy, and the accent-free Remy is simply what the name looks like once English gets hold of it.
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.
Remy
REM-ee
Standard in American English, stress on the first syllable. The French Rémy is ray-MEE, with the stress at the back — worth deciding which one you want before the name is handed to a room full of relatives.
- Rem — The obvious clipped form; used informally and rarely written on anything official.
- Remmy — A doubled-consonant spelling used affectionately, mostly by family.
- Rey — Occasional, and stands on its own as a given name elsewhere.
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, Remy 2
- a long American recordAugustus was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Remy if you want…
- a name holding steadyRemy is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesRemy is 2 syllables to Augustus's 3
- a newer arrivalRemy entered the US charts in 1914
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.
Remy
Strengths
- Two syllables, five letters, and spelled the way an English speaker hears it — no accent to lose in forms and databases.
- Works for a girl or a boy without either use looking like a mistake, since American records carry both.
- A documented line running back to late-antique Gaul, with living forms in French, Italian, Spanish and Polish.
To consider
- Two pronunciations compete: the English REM-ee and the French ray-MEE. Both are correct for the name, so expect to correct people occasionally, and expect the correction to be easy.
- Rémy Martin cognac and the cooking rat in Pixar's Ratatouille are the two associations most Americans reach for first. Neither is a problem, but you will hear about them.
- The spelling splits three ways — Remy, Remi, Rémy — so the name will sometimes be written back to you in a form you didn't choose.
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 Remy 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 Remy?
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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
- Hometown favorites: names only one state loves
- Grandmother-chic: 1920s names ready to return
- Victorian names ready for a second century
- all guides
Where Augustus and Remy each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Augustus or Remy — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Augustus or Remy?
- Augustus, in 2025: Augustus ranked #407 with 783 babies; Remy ranked #408 with 781 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Augustus or Remy?
- Augustus. Over the last five years Augustus moved up 92 places; Remy moved down 52 places.
- Which is the older name, Augustus or Remy?
- Augustus was already in use when US records began in 1880; Remy entered the US charts in 1914. On the American record, Augustus is the older name.
- How many people are named Augustus and Remy?
- About 15,500 people named Augustus are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 12,500 people named Remy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Augustuss or Remys in the classroom?
- Augustus will almost certainly be the only one in school. Remy 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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