The male character in Taylor Swift’s song “August” is named James.
“August” is told from the perspective of an unnamed female narrator who becomes involved with James during a summer romance. James is already connected to Betty, and the song presents the narrator’s longing and eventual disappointment as part of a larger fictional story.
The three characters connect “August” with “Cardigan” and “Betty” on Folklore. “Cardigan” follows Betty’s perspective, while “Betty” is told from James’s point of view. The songs do not describe separate unrelated romances; together, they form a linked narrative.
A frequent mistake is calling the narrator Augustine or Augusta. Swift said she imagined names for the narrator privately, but the character is not given a formal name in the song. James, by contrast, is explicitly named in the broader trilogy.