In Taylor Swift’s “august,” what is the boy’s name?

The boy in Taylor Swift’s “august” is named James. He is the teenage love interest at the center of the song’s fictional summer romance and the wider Folklore love triangle.

The unnamed female narrator becomes involved with James during August, but James is already connected to Betty. When the summer ends, James returns to Betty, leaving the narrator to recognize that the relationship was never truly hers to keep.

James is also the narrator of “betty,” another song in the same three-part storyline. That song gives his perspective on the events, while “cardigan” presents Betty’s viewpoint. The shared characters and overlapping details are why fans commonly refer to the songs as Folklore’s teenage love triangle.

A frequent mix-up is calling the narrator of “august” Augustine or Augusta. Swift said she imagined possible names for the girl but did not establish one definitively in the song. James, by contrast, is explicitly named in the connected narrative and is the boy associated with Betty.