The 17-year-old boy in Taylor Swift’s “August” is named James.
James is part of the fictional teenage love triangle that runs through three Folklore songs. In “August,” he has a brief summer romance with the unnamed female narrator while already connected to Betty, his former lover or partner.
The narrative continues in “Betty,” which presents James’s perspective, and “Cardigan,” which presents Betty’s perspective. Reading the songs together reveals that the summer relationship in “August” does not become a lasting partnership: James eventually returns to Betty.
Listeners sometimes assume that the narrator herself is named August. Swift said she imagined names such as Augusta or Augustine for the character in her head, but the song does not officially identify her by name. James, however, is explicitly named in the broader Folklore storyline.