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Boy · Probably Old Swedish
Gustav
Say it: GUS-tahv
Meaning
Uncertain. Often explained as Gautr 'a Geat' and stafr 'staff', but this is not settled.
Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.
Made Sweden's great royal name by Gustav Vasa in the 16th century.
Its wave through time
Fading since the 1880s
In the United States
- 4,102 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1883, about 1 in 2,400 boys
- 37 babies in 2020
Through the ages
- The Renaissance1400 to 1600
- The Age of Revolutions1750 to 1837
- Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Gustaf
| Finnish | Kustaa |
|---|---|
| French | Gustave |
| Latin | Gustavus |
Famous bearers
- Gustav Vasa, king of Sweden
- Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Royal and noble genealogies
- National birth statistics of European countries source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.