# Gustav (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/gustav/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Swedish |
| Meaning | “geat/goth”, “staff”, “gostauus”, “staff of the geats.” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | Gus |
| Variant spellings | Gustave, Gustavus |
| US babies named this | 4,267 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 4,267 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 182, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

A common royal name in Sweden, from Old Swedish Gøtstaf, from Old Norse Gautr (“Geat/Goth”) + stafr (“staff”). The oldest record in Sweden dates back to the year 1225 ("Gostauus"). In Peder Swart's chronicle about Gustav Vasa dated in the mid-1500s, the name is spelled Götstaff and is assumed to mean "Staff of the Geats."

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 29 | 3,631 |
| 2012 | 27 | 3,831 |
| 2013 | 21 | 4,519 |
| 2014 | 19 | 4,939 |
| 2015 | 23 | 4,337 |
| 2016 | 28 | 3,812 |
| 2017 | 33 | 3,408 |
| 2018 | 33 | 3,402 |
| 2019 | 45 | 2,777 |
| 2020 | 37 | 3,093 |
| 2021 | 34 | 3,383 |
| 2022 | 30 | 3,719 |
| 2023 | 33 | 3,500 |
| 2024 | 35 | 3,351 |
| 2025 | 30 | 3,686 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 7 | 2,629 |
| 2011 | 5 | 3,300 |
| 2012 | 8 | 2,458 |
| 2013 | 11 | 1,920 |
| 2014 | 10 | 2,079 |
| 2015 | 13 | 1,786 |
| 2016 | 5 | 3,478 |
| 2017 | 8 | 2,512 |
| 2018 | 9 | 2,259 |
| 2019 | 4 | 3,937 |
| 2020 | 5 | 3,334 |
| 2021 | 10 | 2,125 |
| 2022 | 9 | 2,320 |
| 2023 | 9 | 2,325 |
| 2025 | 8 | 2,664 |

## In other languages

- Bulgarian: Гу́став
- Chinese: 古斯塔夫
- Czech: Gustav
- Danish: Gustav
- Dutch: Gustaaf
- Esperanto: Gustavo
- Estonian: Gustav, Kustav
- Finnish: Kustaa
- French: Gustave
- Georgian: გუსტავი
- German: Gustav
- Greek: Γουσταύος
- Hindi: गुस्ताव
- Hungarian: Gusztáv
- Icelandic: Gústaf, Gústav
- Italian: Gustavo
- Japanese: グスタフ
- Latin: Gustavus
- Latvian: Gustavs
- Norwegian: Gustav

## People named Gustav

- Gustav Mahler, Austrian late-Romantic composer (1860–1911)
- Gustav Klimt, Austrian symbolist painter (1862–1918)
- Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, German mathematician (1804–1851)
- Gustáv Husák, Czechoslovak politician, 8th President of Czechoslovakia (1913-1991)
- Gustav Holst, British composer (1874–1934)
- Gustav Meyrink, Austrian writer and translator (1868-1932)
- Johann Gustav Droysen, German historian (1808–1884)
- Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, German businessperson, politician (1870-1950)
- Gustav Landauer, German anarchist, editor (1870-1919)
- Gustav Leonhardt, Dutch keyboard player, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor (1928–2012)
- Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach, German botanist (1824–1889)
- Gustav Flatow, German gymnast (1875-1945)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.