Gustavus
Staff of the Goths, referring to the ancient Germanic tribe.
Name Census estimates that about 140 living Americans carry the first name Gustavus. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gustavus today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gustavus births was 1966 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gustavus. 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.
People living today
140
~ 1 in 2,448,245 Americans
Peak year
1966
10 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
2006 SSA rank
#12,701
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Gustavus: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gustavus from the 1880s through to the 2000s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 56 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gustavus 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 Gustavus during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Gustavus
The name Gustavus has its origins in the Old Norse language and Scandinavian cultures of Europe. It is derived from the Old Norse name Guðlaugr, which means "log of God" or "staff of God". This name was eventually contracted and Latinized to Gustavus during the medieval period.
Gustavus first appeared as a given name among the Swedish royal family in the 16th century. One of the earliest recorded uses was for Gustavus Vasa, who ruled as King of Sweden from 1523 to 1560. He is celebrated for leading the struggle for Swedish independence from Denmark.
In the 17th century, Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden from 1611 to 1632, was a prominent military leader during the Thirty Years' War. He is considered one of the greatest military commanders in modern history and is renowned for his innovative tactics and army reforms.
Another notable figure was Gustavus Hesselius, a Swedish-American scholar and the first instructor of the Swedish language at the University of Pennsylvania. He lived from 1682 to 1755 and played a crucial role in preserving the Swedish language and culture in America.
In the 18th century, Gustavus Fredric Forell was a Swedish-American patriot and writer who lived from 1737 to 1806. He actively supported the American Revolution and wrote extensively about the principles of liberty and independence.
Gustavus Franklin Swift, born in 1839 and died in 1903, was an American industrialist and the founder of the Swift meat-packing company. He played a significant role in the development of the modern meatpacking industry and helped establish Chicago as a major center for this industry.
People
Gustavus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gustavus 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
Gustavus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gustavus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 140 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gustavus 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 2,448,245 US residents.
Is Gustavus a common name?
We classify Gustavus as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 266 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gustavus most popular?
The single biggest year for Gustavus was 1966, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gustavus is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Gustavus a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gustavus 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.