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A tentative first post. Do you have any opinions on the name Augustine (for a boy and pronounced AW-gəs-teen)?. Today I was outside a church named after Saint Augustine and it struck me as sounding pretty nice. Do you prefer it or Constantine?
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I love the name Augustine for a boy. Beautiful and strong.
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I love it. It was on my list for a boy. I became enamored of it after reading the Carl Hiaasen book Stormy Weather. if you get a chance to listen to that on CD, it would give you a good feel for how the name sounds over and over. It really grew on me after the book.
Oh I like Constantine too, and it feels a bit more masculine-but I prefer Augustine of the two as it seems a bit less of a mouthful.
Oh I like Constantine too, and it feels a bit more masculine-but I prefer Augustine of the two as it seems a bit less of a mouthful.
This message was edited 7/22/2012, 9:12 PM
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I used to think it sounded feminine, but then I became familiar with St Augustine, and other various males with the name. I've never actually encountered it as a girls name, in history or fiction. So I've begun to think of it as exclusively male.
I do prefer it to Constantine (I first encountered Constantine as a crappy movie starring Keanu Reeves, and I've never been able to get that image out of my head). I love August names, and Augustine is a great alternative to Augustus and August.
I do prefer it to Constantine (I first encountered Constantine as a crappy movie starring Keanu Reeves, and I've never been able to get that image out of my head). I love August names, and Augustine is a great alternative to Augustus and August.
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Oh God, I've seen that film. But Keanu Reeves is pretty attractive so I'll let it pass.
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I consider Augustine more feminine. August as a male name is lovely, and Augustin is nice too. Augustine is just prettier attached to a feminine name for me.
I don't hate it for men, but I'm not sure I'd use it.
Constantine is okay. Konstantin / Kostandin has ruined it via association for me a bit.
I don't hate it for men, but I'm not sure I'd use it.
Constantine is okay. Konstantin / Kostandin has ruined it via association for me a bit.
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Girls names IMO
I can't imagine these on boys since theyre feminine name
and used on girls. I've been trying to figure out at what point did English speakers turn St. Augustin and Constantin's names into Augustine and Constatine.
I can't imagine these on boys since theyre feminine name
and used on girls. I've been trying to figure out at what point did English speakers turn St. Augustin and Constantin's names into Augustine and Constatine.
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The saints' original names were the Latin Augustinus and Constantinus, not Augustin or Constantin. And Augustine and Constantine are not feminine names in Latin. In English the -us or -ius endings were sometimes removed from Latin names to anglicise them, e.g. Marcus to Mark, Dominicus to Dominic, Vespasianus to Vespasian, Antonius to Ant(h)ony. I don't know exactly why the -e got tacked on to Augustine and Constantine, but probably because as an English speaker they look more complete and correct than Augustin or Constantin. Names generally don't end with -in in English. The only one I can think of right now is Justin.
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I know the origin but in France the names are Augustin and Constantin are used, you would never say "St. Augustine" and even though I'm from the States I guess I've lived over there enough that the names are now male to me as well Augustine and Constantine are only used for girls and in fact I had this discussion with a French friend recently who actually finds the "e" ending offensive for the Saint and my dh thinks it's strange so it really does depend on where you're from!
However your explanation of the name and why the "E" was tacked on makes a lot of sense and I think you're right. Plus there are more male names that end with "ine" though I can't think of any. I would also add that other societies tend to use a masculine ending but English is different so it's OK to assign whatever gender you want to a name? Not sure but that's my only other guess.
Thanks for your info!
However your explanation of the name and why the "E" was tacked on makes a lot of sense and I think you're right. Plus there are more male names that end with "ine" though I can't think of any. I would also add that other societies tend to use a masculine ending but English is different so it's OK to assign whatever gender you want to a name? Not sure but that's my only other guess.
Thanks for your info!
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Plus there are more male names that end with "ine" though I can't think of any.
A well-known example would be Valentine. I think perhaps the -ine ending in English was originally masculine (when the name was derived from Latin), but some now might consider it feminine because of French imports like Christine, Justine, Jacqueline, etc. But feminine Latin names imported to English from Latin were generally left unchanged e.g. Claudia, Victoria, Martina, with the exception of maybe Mary, so Augustine wasn't originally a feminine name (in English), that would be Augustina. But French is of course different. The -us of the Latin Augustinus was removed and changed to Augustin, and the for the feminine form Augustina, the -a was changed to an -e. You'll see that with many French names that derive from Latin, e.g Germain and Germaine.
As for names being considered masculine or feminine, it really does depend on where you're from. For example, in Italy Andrea is a masculine name, their form of Andrew. I'm from the UK, so I've only ever seen the saints' names spelt Valentine, Augustine, etc. The former King of Greece, Konstantinos, was always referred to as Constantine in English. Sorry if my original reply seemed a little rambling and incoherent because I was writing it at one o'clock last night.
A well-known example would be Valentine. I think perhaps the -ine ending in English was originally masculine (when the name was derived from Latin), but some now might consider it feminine because of French imports like Christine, Justine, Jacqueline, etc. But feminine Latin names imported to English from Latin were generally left unchanged e.g. Claudia, Victoria, Martina, with the exception of maybe Mary, so Augustine wasn't originally a feminine name (in English), that would be Augustina. But French is of course different. The -us of the Latin Augustinus was removed and changed to Augustin, and the for the feminine form Augustina, the -a was changed to an -e. You'll see that with many French names that derive from Latin, e.g Germain and Germaine.
As for names being considered masculine or feminine, it really does depend on where you're from. For example, in Italy Andrea is a masculine name, their form of Andrew. I'm from the UK, so I've only ever seen the saints' names spelt Valentine, Augustine, etc. The former King of Greece, Konstantinos, was always referred to as Constantine in English. Sorry if my original reply seemed a little rambling and incoherent because I was writing it at one o'clock last night.
This message was edited 7/22/2012, 5:38 AM
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Constantine
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I think it's very nice and handsome, but I prefer Augustin(ah-gust-tin) or just August. I like Augustine better than Constantine, although it is very nice also.
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