Gustavus

Boys' name

Geats + staff, through Gustav

Gustavus has been given to 266 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1966, with 10 recorded.

Babies named Gustavus, 2006

1 in 791,000

Gustavus over time, 1880–2025

Boys

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Gustavus: meaning, origin, and history

Geats + staff, through Gustav

Germanic languages

What Gustavus means

Gustavus belongs to the name family reached through Gustavus → Gustav. Its meaning is “Geats + staff”.

Origin, language, and formation

Gustavus is used in English and Latin. Its origins include Germanic languages.

Gustavus comes through Latin Gustavus and Swedish Gustav.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Gustav.

Pronunciation and spelling

In Latin, Gustavus is pronounced [ˈɡʊs.ta.wʊs].

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 266 boys were recorded with the name Gustavus between 1880 and 2006. Its highest annual count was 10 in 1966; its best national rank was #725 in 1882.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Gustavus?

Gustavus had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 2006, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 2006: 1 in 791,000; 5 of 3,956,166 births
Among boys only: 1 in 411,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 2006: Unranked; Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size: 548,442 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Gustavus sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2006 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 548,442 children born in 2006 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Gustavus. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Gustavuss were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Gustavus was born before 1956 — so the typical Gustavus is around 69 today.

Median birth year: 1956; About 69 years old
Biggest decade: 1960s; 21.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 7.9%; Mostly a past generation
Recorded since 1950: 148; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1960s — 21.1% of all recorded uses (56).

Is Gustavus rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: —; Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago: New entry; Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago: —; Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago: —; Not published both years
Share of its own peak: 0%; Peak was 1966 (10)
Years since peak: 59; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Shifting; 15.1% average annual change
Best rank ever: #725; 1882

Spellings of Gustavus

Gustavus is not the most common spelling — Gustavo is, with 80.2% against Gustavus's 0.53%.

Gustavo80.2%40,357
Gustave10.8%5,430
Gustav8.5%4,267
Gustavus0.53%266

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Gustavus by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #725; 1882
Peak year: 1966; 10 that year
First recorded: 1880
Last recorded: 2006
All-time count: 266
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Gustavus

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Gustabo Gustin Corvus Gustave Gustaf Gussie Gustav Travus Guster Guss Gustavo Gustas Gustauo Gust Markevus Gustie Guston Gusty Jarvus Octavus Gus

Sibling names for Gustavus

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Rona Dawna Rosita Collette Barbra Sarita Kandy Cami

For a brother

Deron Tad Darron Theron Daron Thad Kip Tracey

Explore around Gustavus

Top names of 1966, Gustavus's peak year The 1960s in full Other names that peaked in 1882 Boys' names starting with G