Austen
Masculine · “venerable”
Austen is given to both — 8,125 boys and 1,291 girls since 1880. See Austen as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Austen is Augustine worn down — venerable, from the Latin augere, to increase — and Jane Austen's surname is the same word.
How old is the name Austen?
Austen first appears in US birth records in 1917 — 108 years ago. The typical Austen alive today was born around 1998, making them about 27 years old. About 7,900 people named Austen are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Austen most popular?
Austen peaked in 1995, reaching #420 nationally. Today it ranks #2516, 2,096 places below that high. See the whole 1995 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From augere to Austen
The story of Austen
Augustine of Canterbury's name was ground down to Austin and Austen within a few centuries of his mission, and the Austin Friars are named for it. Jane Austen's surname descends from the same contraction. It appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
venerable, majestic
A medieval English contraction of Augustine, from the Latin augustus, 'venerable' or 'consecrated', from augere, 'to increase'. The same verb gives augment and author. The contraction is documented and the Latin undisputed.
How the name formed
- augere
- augustus
- Augustine
- Austen
Related forms: Austin · Augustine · Augustin
Pronouncing Austen
AW-stin
Two syllables, stress on the first. Austen and Austin are said identically.
Nicknames for Austen
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1917
- Most boys named
- 1995540 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #420reached in 1995
- Change vs 2024
- −33.8%53 in 2025, from 80
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Austen in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Austin in English — spelling variant
- Augustine in English — related form
- Augustin in French — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Austens among us
people named Austen are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 32,228 born in 2025 was named Austen
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Olen test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Austen's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Olen climbed just as high around 1913, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Olen's path sketches the road Austen is walking now.
Austen sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Austen is headed
Austen should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Austen beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Austen in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That Augustine ground down to Austen is a first-rate piece of name history.
- Jane Austen is a first-rate bearer of the surname.
- Augustine is available as a full formal version.
- Austin is the commoner spelling for a given name.
- One novelist dominates the association for many.
- It is used for both sexes in America.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Austen to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Austen? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Austen
Masculine · #2516 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Austens are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 7,900 people named Austen are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Austen in 2025?
- Austen ranks #2516 among US boy names in 2025, with 53 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Austen?
- About 1 in every 32,228 US boys born in 2025 was named Austen — 53 in all.
- Will my child share the name Austen with classmates?
- Austen will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Austen
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Tahir#2516 · Jariel#2516 · Neymar#2516 · Alphonse#2516 · Rye#2516 · Saleem#2516 · Stuart#2516 · Jovi#2516
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Austen? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Austen and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle