Given name & surname · also Slavonic, Old Norse
Gustav
“of the staff of the gods”
In English use, Gustav is a variant of Gustave. One Scandinavian interpretation is “of the staff of the gods.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Gustav is a variant of Gustave. One Scandinavian interpretation is “of the staff of the gods.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Old Norse and Danish naming traditions.
How it developed
In Faroese usage, Gustav developed from Gøtstaf.
The story
The name has historical associations with Scandinavian royalty.
Gustav through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 4,267
- 4,267 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1917
- 99 babies
- 2025
- 30
- #3,686 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −8%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 30 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 3,686 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 8.0% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 99 in 1917. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,039 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Gustav’s family of names
In English usage, Gustav has a diminutive in Gus. Gustav shares a linguistic root with Gustave. In English usage, Gustav has a conventional equivalent in the Galician form Gustavo.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Gustav has relatives in 33 languages. Lines run from its Old Norse roots to each of them.
32 related names in 33 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 11
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Gusclipped form · English
- Gustavevariant · English, French
- Gustadiminutive · Czech
- Gustafvariant · Swedish, German
- Gustavusvariant · English, Latin
- Gustíkdiminutive · Czech
- Gurradiminutive · Swedish
- Kustavvariant · Estonian
Show 3 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 29
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- GustavoItalian, Spanish
- Tavinrelated form
- Gustavafeminine form · Slovene
- Gustcognate · gmw-ecg
- Gustauequivalent
- Guustaveequivalent
- Tåveequivalent
- Gautstavdoublet · Norwegian Nynorsk
Show 21 moreShow fewer
- Kuutakborrowing · Greenlandic
- Gustawderivative · Polish
- Gustávderivative · Slovak
- Kyöstirelated form
- Kustaarelated form · Finnish
- Kustaviequivalent
- Kustiequivalent
- Gustaffequivalent
- Gøtstafolder form · gmq-osw
- GustavsLatvian
- グスタフJapanese
- GústavIcelandic
- GusztávHungarian
- गुस्तावHindi
- ΓουσταύοςGreek
- გუსტავიGeorgian
- Gustaafcognate · West Frisian, Dutch
- 古斯塔夫Mandarin
- Гу́ставBulgarian
- গুস্তাভBengali
- Staafcognate
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Gustav
- Gustav MahlerAustrian late-Romantic composer (1860–1911)
- Gustav KlimtAustrian symbolist painter (1862–1918)
- Gustav KirchhoffGerman physicist (1824–1887)
- Gustav Ludwig HertzGerman physicist (1887–1975)
- Gustav StresemannGerman politician, statesman, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1878-1929)
- Gustav VasaKing of Sweden from 1523 to 15601496–1560
- Gustav HeinemannGerman politician; President of Germany from 1969–1974 (1899–1976)
- Gustav FechnerGerman scientist (1801-1887)
- Gustav HolstBritish composer (1874–1934)
Characters named Gustav: Gustav Graves (James Bond villain).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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