boy's name
Gustave
goo-STAHV
- Origin French
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 44,169
France
#150
2025 births
Gustave is a boy's name of Old Norse origin whose meaning is disputed, and the man who built the Eiffel Tower carried it. It ranks 150th in France and is reviving from a peak our records place in 1907.
- Gustave is a name of French origin.
- Peaked in France in 1907, when 1,165 babies were given the name.
- After peaking in the 1900s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,474 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Gustave over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 11,180 |
| 1910s | 8,215 |
| 1920s | 7,065 |
| 1930s | 3,175 |
| 1940s | 1,230 |
| 1950s | 605 |
| 1960s | 300 |
| 1970s | 95 |
| 1980s | 90 |
| 1990s | 295 |
| 2000s | 900 |
| 2010s | 2,630 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,545 |
What Gustave means
Gustave has no settled meaning. Staff of the Goths is the traditional reading, from Gautr and stafr; meditation staff has also been proposed from a different first element, and the Old Norse original is not securely identified.
Where Gustave comes from
Gustave is the French form of the Swedish Gustav, from the Old Norse Gautstafr — generally read as Gautr, a name for the Geats or for Odin, with stafr, a staff, giving staff of the Goths. A second reading takes the first element from a word for meditation. Six kings of Sweden have carried it, beginning with Gustav Vasa, who broke Sweden from Denmark in 1523 and made it Lutheran; Gustav II Adolf turned Sweden into a great power in the Thirty Years' War. It reached France with the Napoleonic marshal Bernadotte's election as Swedish crown prince in 1810. Its French bearers are the ones who matter here: Gustave Eiffel, Gustave Flaubert and Gustave Courbet, three men who between them shaped French engineering, prose and painting.
Gustave in use
Gustave ranks 150th in France with about 400 births in 2025 and our records mark it reviving from a peak in 1907 — a name returning after more than a century out of favor. Our records carry it from 1900. It is rare elsewhere at 8,016th in the United States and absent from the British tables, where Gustav is the more usual spelling and is itself uncommon.
How popular is Gustave?
In 2025, Gustave was given to 400 babies in France, ranking #150 that year. It is a rare choice.
Where Gustave is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Gustave
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Gustave also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Gustave over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Gustave
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Gustave in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Gustave
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Gustave — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Gustave
What does the name Gustave mean?
It is disputed. "Staff of the Goths" is the traditional reading, but the Old Norse original is not securely identified.
Is Gustave a Swedish name?
The source is Norse and six Swedish kings carried it. Gustave is the French form.
Who was Gustave Eiffel?
The engineer behind the Eiffel Tower and the internal structure of the Statue of Liberty.
How popular is Gustave?
150th in France, and reviving from a peak in 1907.
Is Gustave a girl's or a boy's name?
Gustave is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Gustave?
Gustave has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Gustave?
Gustave is usually shortened to Gus.
Is Gustave a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Gustave currently ranks #150 in France. After peaking in the 1900s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.