Rastus

Boys' name

Short form of Erastus

Rastus has been given to 111 babies in the U.S. since 1887. 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 1912, with 10 recorded.

Babies named Rastus, 1934

1 in 415,000

Rastus 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 Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Rastus: meaning, origin, and history

Short form of Erastus

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Rastus means

Rastus is a short form of Erastus.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

Rastus is used in English (Rare).

Another recorded pronunciation is /ˈɹæs.təs/ for Rastus.

Meaning behind the documented name family

The name developed through Rastus → Erastus. The family’s meaning is “lovable”, recorded in English with the source elements erastós.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

Thought to be derived from Erastus. Despite paucity of actual usage, the name became associated with African-American men because of a character in the first Uncle Remus book by Joel Chandler Harris.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Rastus (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Rastus is used in English.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Erastus.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 111 boys were recorded with the name Rastus between 1887 and 1934. Its highest annual count was 10 in 1912; its best national rank was #1,038 in 1887.

How common is Rastus?

Rastus had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 1934, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 1934: 1 in 415,000; 5 of 2,076,780 births
Among boys only: 1 in 207,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 1934: Unranked; Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size: 287,904 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Rastus 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 1934 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 287,904 children born in 1934 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Rastus. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Rastuss were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Rastus was born before 1919 — so the typical Rastus is around 106 today.

Median birth year: 1919; About 106 years old
Biggest decade: 1910s; 46.8% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 95.5%; A modern name
Recorded since 1950: 0; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1910s — 46.8% of all recorded uses (52).

Is Rastus 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 1912 (10)
Years since peak: 113; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Volatile; 29.1% average annual change
Best rank ever: #1,038; 1887

Spellings of Rastus

Rastus is not the most common spelling — Justus is, with 93.1% against Rastus's 1.1%.

Justus93.1%9,140
Rashun5.7%564
Rastus1.1%111

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.

Rastus 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: #1,038; 1887
Peak year: 1912; 10 that year
First recorded: 1887
Last recorded: 1934
All-time count: 111
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Rastus

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

Rasmus Rasool Rashee Rashed Ventus Raslan Rasaan Rasaun Rasul Rashied Rashi Rashidi Rashod Rashawd Rassan Rashann Rason Lotus Rashon Rashun Rashiem Rassie Rasean Rasha

Sibling names for Rastus

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

Golda Lauretta Era Leatha Leone Mayme Artie Alpha

For a brother

Gustave Waldo Orrin Winfield Dorsey Isadore Aloysius Hyman

Explore around Rastus

Top names of 1912, Rastus's peak year The 1910s in full Other names that peaked in 1887 Boys' names starting with R