Austen
- Pronunciation
- [Aus-ten]
- Gender
- Male
- Meaning
- Variant Of Augustine.
- Origin
- English
About the Name Austen
Austen is a streamlined form of Augustine, itself descended from the Latin Augustus, meaning "great" or "venerable." The contracted spelling has a distinctly English flavor and is, of course, inseparable from one of literature's most celebrated surnames — giving the name a quietly bookish, literary air alongside its older religious roots. Few names manage to feel both saintly and scholarly at the same time.
That blend of heritage and understatement is the name's signature. It sounds polished and a touch aristocratic without ever being ornate, and its crisp two-syllable shape suits modern tastes for names that feel both traditional and trim. For parents who love its sound but want something a little more distinctive than the ubiquitous Austin, this spelling offers an elegant, literary-leaning alternative with genuine character. It reads as thoughtful and assured, a name with a quiet touch of old-world refinement.
Austen first entered the US Social Security top-1000 for boys in 2000 — its peak year — at rank #706, and last appeared in the top-1000 in 2006, at rank #932. Across that span roughly 1,227 boys were given the spelling, marking it as a refined, less-common cousin of the far more familiar Austin. The variant Austyn is also recorded, offering yet another way to personalize the sound.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration name data, 1880–2024 (methodology). By Marvin Tang.
Quick Facts About Austen
US Popularity History (2000–2006)
Annual US births named Austen by gender, from US Social Security Administration records. Peak year: 2000 with 248 boys named Austen (boy rank #706 that year).
Where it stands today: in 2006, ranked #932 for boys (202 US births). That's 226 places below its 2000 peak.
Source: US Social Security Administration. Limitations: US birth-certificate data only; names appearing fewer than 5 times in a given year are suppressed for privacy; spelling variants are counted separately. For names that ranked outside the US top 100 before year 2000, only the years they reached the top 100 are shown — the chart may have gaps for less-popular historical names.
Paste the snippet below on any HTML page. Includes a credit link back to 9BabyNames — please keep it intact.
Variant Forms
| Name | Meaning | Gender | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austyn | Variant Of Augustine. | Male | French |
Looking for names like Austen?
A dedicated page with 60+ related names — spelling variants, rhymes, alliterations, same-origin matches, and shared meaning concepts — lives at its own URL so each kind of similarity gets a deeper treatment than fits here.
Compare Austen to Other Popular Names
Side-by-side popularity charts and crossover years for Austen against today's most popular boys-name peers (top 8 by US births in the last 10 years of SSA records).
Austen Baby Name Ideas
- Pride and Prejudice Baby Names: From the Bennet Sisters to Quiet Regency References
- The Best Middle Names for Rebecca: Pairings That Give a Three-Syllable Classic a Clean Landing
- Heartstopper Baby Names: Soft, Current & Very British Picks from Alice Oseman's World
- Light Academia Baby Names: Warm, Bookish Names Bathed in Golden Light
- Alternatives to Celebrity Baby Names: Unique and Meaningful Choices
- Majestic Baby Names: A Collection of Regal and Grand Names for Your Little Ones
- 37 Unique Literary Baby Names After Famous Writers
- Top 10 Popular Girl Names In San Diego for 2016
- 120 Awesome Old-Fashioned Girl Names With Meanings
- 100 Awesome Literary Names For Girls And Boys
- 37 Most Popular Regional Baby Names in the U.S.
- 10 Elegant And Unusual Baby Names