Guss
A nickname formed from diminutives of Germanic names with the root Gus.
Name Census estimates that about 141 living Americans carry the first name Guss. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Guss today is around 81 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Guss births was 1920 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Guss. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Guss is about 81 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Guss' were born before 1955.
People living today
141
~ 1 in 2,430,882 Americans
Peak year
1920
39 babies that year
Average age
81
years old
1982 SSA rank
#6,717
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Guss: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Guss from the 1880s through to the 1980s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 275 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Guss by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Guss during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Guss' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Alabama, Georgia, Texas recorded the most babies named Guss, while South Carolina, Louisiana, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Guss
The name Guss is believed to have its origins in the Germanic languages, specifically as a diminutive form of the name Gustav or Gustavus. The name Gustav is derived from the Old Norse name Guðlaugr, which is composed of the elements "guð" meaning "god" and "laugr" meaning "law" or "bright water."
The earliest recorded use of the name Guss can be traced back to the 16th century in Scandinavia and parts of northern Germany. In these regions, Guss was likely used as a shortened version of Gustav, which was a popular name among nobility and royalty due to its association with Swedish kings.
One of the earliest notable figures with the name Guss was Guss Muddler, a Swedish soldier and explorer who served under King Gustav II Adolf during the Thirty Years' War in the 17th century. Muddler is credited with leading expeditions to explore and map parts of present-day Estonia and Latvia.
In the 18th century, Guss Holl was a German-born artist and engraver who worked primarily in England. His engravings of architectural works and landscapes were highly regarded during his lifetime, and many of his prints are now held in prestigious collections around the world.
The 19th century saw the rise of Guss Dittmar, a German-American brewer and businessman who founded the Dittmar Brewery in St. Louis, Missouri. Dittmar's brewery was one of the largest and most successful in the city during the latter half of the 19th century.
In the early 20th century, Guss Moran was an American professional golfer who won several major tournaments, including the Western Open in 1933. Moran was known for his powerful driving ability and was one of the leading players on the PGA Tour during the 1930s.
Another notable figure with the name Guss was Guss Ricca, an American mobster and enforcer for the Chicago Outfit during the Prohibition era. Ricca was a close associate of Al Capone and played a key role in the organization's illegal activities, including bootlegging and racketeering.
While the name Guss has its roots in Germanic languages, it has been adopted and used in various other cultures and regions over time, with individuals bearing this name leaving their mark on various fields, from exploration and art to business and sports.
People
Guss + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Guss as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Guss: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Guss?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 141 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Guss going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,430,882 US residents.
Is Guss a common name?
We classify Guss as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,136 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Guss most popular?
The single biggest year for Guss was 1920, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Guss is about 81 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Guss a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Guss in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.