August History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Emilia Romagna region of Italy is the locale where the August surname was first found. Although the people in this region were at one time known by only a single, personal name, it later became necessary for them to adopt a second name to identify themselves as populations grew and travel became more frequent. The process of adopting fixed hereditary surnames was not complete until the modern era, but the use of hereditary family names in Italy began in the 10th and 11th centuries. August is one of the Italian patronymic surnames, created from the father’s given name. The surname August came from the personal name Agostino. This personal name is derived from the Latin word “augustus,” which means “favored with good omens.”

Early Origins of the August family

The surname August was first found in Ferrara, a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. One of the first records of the name was Eugenio Agostini who was listed there in 923. Also around this time, Alessandro Agostini was secretary of the Duke and another Alessandro Agostini, of the same family in Ferrara, was the Councillor of Alfonso I.