Gustav

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Gustav

Gender: Masculine
Language: German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, etc.
Etymology:
Gustav is the German form of a Latin name, Gustavus, possibly coming (according to the The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names) from an older German name, Chustaffus, meaning “Meditation, Staff” from “chuton” (to meditate) and “staf” (staff). Other sources say it means “Guatr’s Staff.” Guatr was the name of an old Germanic tribe.

History:
Gustav, until the 17th century, was rare outside of Sweden (where it was Gustaf). From 1611 to 1632 Sweden was ruled by the famous Gustavus Adolphus and the name Gustav spread to other European countries.

Pronunciation: goos-taav.

Diminutives:
English: Gus.

Alternates:
Dutch: Gustaaf, Staaf.
Finnish: Kustaa, Kyösti.
French: Gustave.
German: Gustavus.
Latin: Gustavus.
Spanish: Gustavo.
Swedish: Gustaf, Gösta.

Feminine: Gustava.

Famous Bearers:
Artists and Authors:
Gustavus Hesselius (1682-1755)
Swedish-American painter.
Gustaf Fredrik, Greve Gyllenborg (1731-1808)
Swedish poet.
Gustav Philip, Greve Creutz (1731-1785)
Swedish poet.
Gustav Freytag (1816-1895)
German novelist.
Gustave Courbet (1819-1877)
French painter.
Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880)
French novelist.
Gustave Moreau (1826-1898)
French painter.
Gustave Doré (1832-1883)
French painter.
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836-1870)
Spanish poet.
Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894)
French painter.
Gustav Wied (1858-1914)
Danish writer.
Gustave Charpentier (1860-1956)
French composer.
Gustaf Fröding (1860-1911)
Swedish poet.
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Austrian composer.
Gustav Klimt (1862-1918)
Austrian artist.
Gustav Meyrink (1868-1932)
Austrian writer.
Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943)
Norwegian sculptor.
Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
British composer.
Gustaf Aulén (1879-1977)
Swedish composer.
Gustaf Hellström (1882-1953)
Swedish novelist.
Gus(tav) Kahn (1886-1941)
German lyricist.

Educators, Scholar, and Social Workers:
Gustav Cassel (1866-1945)
Swedish economist.
Gustav A. Weigel (1906-1964)
American theologian.
Gustavo Guitérrez (1928-)
Peruvian theologian.

Military:
Gustavus Conyngham (1747-1819)
American naval officer.
Gustavus Vasa Fix (1821-1883)
American naval officer.

Miscellaneous:
Gustaaf Willem, Baron van Imhoff (1705-1750)
Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies.

Political Figures:
Gustaf, Friherre Bonde (1620-1667)
Swedish statesman.
Gustaf Maurtiz Armfelt (1757-1814)
Swedish statesman.
Gustav Krupp von Bohlen (1870-1950)
Prussian diplomat.
Gustav Streseman (1878-1929)
German politician.
Gustav Heinemann (1899-1876)
West German president.
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla (1900-1975)
Dictator of Colombia.
Gustavo Díaz Ordaz (1911-1979)
President of Mexico.
Gustáv Husák (1913-1991)
President of Czechoslovakia.

Royalty:
Gustav I (1496-1550)
King of Sweden
Gustavus II Adolphus (1594-1632)
King of Sweden.
Gustavus III (1746-1792)
King of Sweden.
Gustav IV Adolf (1778-1837)
King of Sweden
Gustav V (1858-1950)
King of Sweden.
Gustav VI Adolf (1882-1973)
King of Sweden.

Scientists:
Gustave-Gaspard Coriolis (1792-1843)
French mathematician.
Gustav Fechner (1801-1887)
German physicist.
Gustav Kirchhoff (1824-1887)
German physicist.
Gustav Ferdinand Richard Radde (1831-1903)
Polish naturalist.
Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923)
French engineer, of Eiffel Tower fame.
Gustav Tammann (1861-1938)
Russian chemist.
Gustav Dalén (1869-1937)
Swedish engineer.
Gustav Hertz (1887-1975)
German physicist.
Sir Gustav Nossal (1931-)
Austrian-Australian immunologist.

Singers and Entertainers:
Gustav Ucicky (1899-1961)
Austrian filmmaker.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.025 % named Gustavo
0.011 % named Gus
less than 0.004 % named Gustav

Popularity of Gustav:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1910: 327th most popular.
1910-1920: 513th most popular.
1920-1930: 910th most popular.
1930-2000: N/A

In Sweden...
1998: 18th most popular.
1999: 17th most popular.
2000: 17th most popular.

Popularity of Gustavo:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1940: N/A
1940-1950: 933rd most popular.
1950-1960: 659th most popular.
1960-1970: 558th most popular.
1970-1980: 407th most popular.
1980-1990: 359th most popular.
1990: 285th most popular.
1991: 253rd most popular.
1992: 265th most popular.
1993: 239th most popular.
1994: 255th most popular.
1995: 268th most popular.
1996: 284th most popular.
1997: 283rd most popular.
1998: 313th most popular.
1999: 290th most popular.
2000: 247th most popular.
2001: 270th most popular.
2002: 262nd most popular.
2003: 266th most popular.

Popularity of Gus:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1910: 239th most popular.
1910-1920: 309th most popular.
1920-1930: 404th most popular.
1930-1940: 418th most popular.
1940-1950: 499th most popular.
1950-1960: 575th most popular.
1960-1970: 707th most popular.
1970-1980: 999th most popular.
1980-2000: N/A

Popularity of Gustave:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1900-1910: 383rd most popular.
1910-1920: 514th most popular.
1920-1930: 626th most popular.
1930-2000: N/A

In France...
1900: 33rd most popular.
1910: 41st most popular.
1920: 52nd most popular.
1930: 71st most popular.
1940: 102nd most popular.
1950: 175th most popular.
1951: 184th most popular.
1960-2000: N/A