Austad municipality was created on 1 January 1909 when the old municipality of
Lyngdal was divided into three separate municipalities:
Lyngdal, Austad, and
Kvås. Upon its creation, Austad had a population of 1,263. On 7 January 1916, there was a small border adjustment which transferred a small area (population: 4) from Austad to the neighboring municipality of
Spind. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the
Schei Committee. On 1 January 1963, Austad and Kvås were re-incorporated into Lyngdal along with the Gitlevågområdet area of
Spangereid. Prior to the merger, Austad had a population of 608.
Name The municipality (originally the
parish) is named after the old
Austad farm () since the first
Austad Church was built there. The first element the male name "" or "". The last element is the plural form of which means "place" or "abode". ==Government==