UK boy's name
Gustav
A masculine given name of Scandinavian origin meaning "staff of the Geats".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2023. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Gustav is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Gustav popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2023 in this profile. In that release it ranked #2325, with 9 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2015, with 13 births.
This profile covers 174 England and Wales registrations across 25 recorded years from 1997 to 2023. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 69% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 182 living people in the UK are called Gustav. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2024 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Gustav ranked #2325 for boys in England and Wales in 2023, with 9 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2015, when 13 boys were registered as Gustav.
- • Gustav ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #703 in 2022.
- • About 182 living people in the UK are estimated to have Gustav as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#2325
2023
Births in 2023
9
Latest year
Peak year
2015
13 births
Estimated living
182
2026
Meaning
What does Gustav mean?
The name Gustav has its origins in the Old Norse language. It is derived from the Old Norse elements "guð" meaning "god" and "stafr" meaning "staff". The name essentially means "staff of God" or "God's staff". The Old Norse spelling was Guðstafr.
Gustav was originally a Scandinavian name that emerged during the Viking Age, around the 8th to 11th centuries. It was prevalent in the regions of modern-day Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland. The name later spread to other parts of Europe through Scandinavian exploration and settlement.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gustav can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of historical stories written in the 13th and 14th centuries. The name appears in the Saga of Burnt Njal, which recounts events from the late 10th century.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Gustav. One of the most famous was Gustav I of Sweden, also known as Gustav Vasa (1496-1560), who was the king of Sweden from 1523 until his death. He is credited with establishing the modern Swedish nation-state and breaking the dominance of the Danish monarchy.
Another prominent Gustav was Gustav II Adolf of Sweden (1594-1632), who was the king of Sweden from 1611 until his death. He was a skilled military leader and played a significant role in the Thirty Years' War, where he helped to defend Protestantism in Europe.
In the realm of music, Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) was an influential Austrian composer and conductor of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His symphonic works, such as Symphony No. 5 and Symphony No. 9, are widely regarded as masterpieces of the Romantic period.
The name Gustav also has connections to literature. Gustav Flaubert (1821-1880) was a French novelist who is best known for his influential work "Madame Bovary", a landmark novel that is considered one of the first modern literary works.
Another notable Gustav was Gustav Klimt (1862-1918), an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. His works, such as "The Kiss" and "Judith", are celebrated for their decorative and sensual style.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Gustav over time
The chart below shows babies named Gustav registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1997 to 2023. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Gustav, the clearest high point is 2015. The latest England and Wales figure is 9 births in 2023, compared with 13 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gustav by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Gustav was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #2526 | 33 | 4 |
| 2010s | #2636 | 80 | 10 |
| 2000s | #2547 | 55 | 9 |
| 1990s | #2880 | 6 | 2 |
Geography
Where Gustav is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Gustav. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Gustav ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #703 in 2022.
Across the UK
Gustav in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#703 in 2022
3 years of NRS records, 9 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Gustav
-
Gustav Burton
podcaster; racing driver
British racing driver (born 2002)
2002-
-
Gustav Victor Rudolf Born
scientist; physician; hematologist; university teacher; pharmacologist
British pharmacologist (1921-2018)
1921-2018
-
Gustav Jahoda
psychologist; academic; sociologist
social psychologist (1920–2016)
1920-2016
-
Gustav Nylin
physician
1892-1961
-
Gustav Hamel
aircraft pilot
British aviator (1889-1914)
1889-1914
-
Gustav Renwick
politician
British politician (1883-1956)
1883-1956
-
Gustav Holst
composer; music teacher; librettist
British composer (1874–1934)
1874-1934
-
Gustav Manning
businessperson; association football coach; association football player
German American businessman (1873-1953)
1873-1953
Related
Names similar to Gustav
- George 121,258
- Gabriel 20,581
- Grayson 7,636
- Gregory 2,925
- Guy 2,646
- Gareth 2,092
- Gethin 1,880
- Georgie 1,872
- Gary 1,575
- Gavin 1,422
- Giovanni 1,252
- Grant 1,199
FAQ
Gustav: questions and answers
How popular is the name Gustav in the UK right now?
In 2023, Gustav was ranked #2325 for boys in England and Wales, with 9 births registered.
When was Gustav most popular?
The peak year on record was 2015, with 13 babies registered as Gustav in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Gustav?
A masculine given name of Scandinavian origin meaning "staff of the Geats".
How many people are called Gustav in the UK?
A total of 174 babies have been registered as Gustav across the 25 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 9 more in Scotland.
Where is Gustav most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Gustav ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #703 in 2022. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.