Boy's name

Oistín

“osh-TEEN”

a Norse form of Augustine

Austin

Source: Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames (1923) ↗

The story behind the name

Woulfe finds it in the Annals of Ulster in 874, as the name of a son of Amhlaoibh, king of the Norsemen, which makes it far older in Ireland than the Augustine it later stood for.

Quick answers

How do you pronounce Oistín?

Oistín is pronounced “osh-TEEN”. Irish has three main dialect groups (Ulster, Connacht and Munster) and many names are said differently in each. The respellings here give the pronunciation most commonly heard in Irish English; where a well-known variant exists, both are shown.

What does the name Oistín mean?

Oistín means a Norse form of Augustine.

Is Oistín a boy's or a girl's name?

Oistín is traditionally a boy's name in Ireland.

How else is Oistín spelled?

Other spellings and equivalents include Austin. Irish names were written down by English-speaking clerks for centuries, which is why so many spellings survive for one name.

Related names

Oisín

Meanings follow Ó Corráin & Maguire's Irish Names and Woulfe; pronunciations give the commonest Irish-English form. Know this name better — a dialect pronunciation, a family tradition? Tell us. · All Irish names A–Z