Aengus is an Irish mythic name meaning one strength or unique vigor, borne by a Celtic god.
Aengus — also spelled Óengus or Angus — is one of the oldest surviving names in the Irish Gaelic tradition, predating the arrival of Christianity on the island. It derives from the Old Irish Óen-gus, a compound of óen ('one') and gus ('force' or 'vigor'), yielding the poetic meaning 'singular strength' or 'unique choice.' In Irish mythology, Aengus Óg is among the most beloved of the Tuatha Dé Danann — the divine race of pre-Christian Ireland — and serves as the god of love, youth, beauty, and poetic inspiration.
He dwells at Brú na Bóinne, the great megalithic site at Newgrange, lending the name an association with one of the oldest sacred landscapes in Europe. The mythological Aengus is a figure of warmth and longing: in the tale 'Aislinge Óenguso' (The Dream of Aengus), he falls in love with a girl seen only in a vision and spends years searching the world for her. B.
Yeats immortalized this longing in his poem 'The Song of Wandering Aengus,' one of the most anthologized pieces of Irish Romantic poetry, cementing the name's literary prestige in the English-speaking world beyond Ireland's borders. In Scotland, the related form Angus has long been associated with the northeastern county and clan traditions. As Aengus, the name has experienced a quiet revival among parents drawn to Irish mythology and Celtic heritage, valued for its deep roots, its musical sound, and the rich imaginative world it invokes.