Argusta
A feminine name derived from the Latin word "augustus" meaning majestic or venerable.
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Argusta. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 72.6% of registrations being female. The average person named Argusta today is around 95 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Argusta births was 1919 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Argusta. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Argusta is about 95 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Argustas were born before 1941.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Argusta. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
1919
12 babies that year
Average age
95
years old
1938 SSA rank
#3,548
Tracked since 1914
Gender
Gender distribution for Argusta
Argusta is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 95 total registrations, 26 (27.4%) were male and 69 (72.6%) were female.
Argusta as a male name
- Ranked #3,548 in 1938
- 5 male births in 1938
- Peak: 1931 (6 births)
Argusta as a female name
- Ranked #3,829 in 1934
- 6 female births in 1934
- Peak: 1919 (12 births)
Popularity
Argusta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Argusta from the 1910s through to the 1930s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 38 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Argusta by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Argusta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Argusta
The given name Argusta has its roots in the ancient Greek language. It is believed to have originated from the Greek word "argos," which means "bright" or "shining." This name first gained popularity during the Hellenistic period, which spanned from the 4th to the 1st century BC.
Argusta was a relatively uncommon name in ancient Greece, but it gained some prominence in the region of Argos, located in the eastern Peloponnese. The city of Argos was known for its cultural and military significance, and it is possible that the name Argusta was associated with this important city in some way.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Argusta can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Plutarch, who lived in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Plutarch mentioned a woman named Argusta in his work "Parallel Lives," which chronicled the lives of famous Greeks and Romans.
In the 3rd century AD, there was a notable figure named Argusta who was a Christian martyr. She was believed to have been executed during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian for refusing to renounce her faith. Her story was documented in several early Christian texts, and she became revered as a saint in some Christian traditions.
During the Byzantine Empire, which ruled over parts of the Greek world from the 4th to the 15th centuries, the name Argusta experienced a brief resurgence in popularity. One notable bearer of the name was Argusta of Constantinople, a noblewoman who lived in the 6th century and was known for her philanthropic work and patronage of the arts.
In the Middle Ages, the name Argusta was relatively uncommon, but there were a few notable individuals who bore this name. One was Argusta of Saxony, a German noblewoman who lived in the 12th century and was known for her involvement in religious affairs.
Another notable figure with the name Argusta was Argusta della Rovere, an Italian noblewoman from the 15th century who was a member of the powerful Della Rovere family and played a significant role in the cultural and political life of Renaissance Italy.
While the name Argusta has fallen out of widespread use in modern times, it remains a part of the rich tapestry of names with deep historical and cultural roots in the ancient Greek world and beyond.
People
Argusta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Argusta as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Argusta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Argusta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Argusta going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Argusta a common name?
We classify Argusta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 95 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Argusta most popular?
The single biggest year for Argusta was 1919, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Argusta is about 95 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Argusta a female name?
Yes, 72.6% of people registered as Argusta in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.