Avgustina ( Russian: Августи́на) is an uncommon Russian female first name. [1] Its masculine versions are Avgustin [2] and Avgust. [1] The name is derived from the Latin word augustus, which means majestic, sacred, and was borrowed by Russians from Byzantine Christianity. [1] Its colloquial forms are Avgusta (А́вгуста) (which can also be a separate, albeit related, name) and Gusta (Гу́ста). [2]
The name was included into various, often handwritten, church calendars throughout the 17th–19th centuries, but was omitted from the official Synodal Menologium at the end of the 19th century. [3] In 1924–1930, the name was included into various Soviet calendars, [4] which included the new and often artificially created names promoting the new Soviet realities and encouraging the break with the tradition of using the names in the Synodal Menologia. [5]
Its diminutives include Ava (А́ва), [6] Avgustinka (Августи́нка), Avgusta (Авгу́ста), Gusta (Гу́ста), Gustya (Гу́стя), Ustya (У́стя), Gusya (Гу́ся), Gutya (Гу́тя), and Tina (Ти́на). [2]