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Surname Etymology and Meaning of AUGUSTUS

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Name meanings and etymologies are often disputed. The information here is compiled from freely available sources, and no claims whatsoever are made for accuracy, either historical or etymological.

Humanistic re-creation of the Latin personal name Augustus on the basis of its medieval vernacular derivatives, principally August. The Latin name is from an adjective meaning ‘venerable’, from augere ‘to increase’. Examples include German, Dutch, and Scandinavian August (though the family name does not exist in Scandinavia), French Auguste, Italian Agosto, and Portuguese Augusto. The month of August was named in honor of the Emperor Augustus (63 bc–ad 14), after whom it became conventional for Roman emperors to adopt Augustus as a title on their accession. The personal name became popular among early Christians, who read into it the implication that the bearer had become greater by being baptized.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names (2003)