Gustavo
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Meaning
“Spanish/Italian/Portuguese form of Gustav: possibly 'staff of the Geats', or from Old Slavic Gostislav”
The story
A Swedish royal history stands behind Gustavo, even while the name's deeper origin remains disputed. Gustavo is the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese form of Gustav, a name borne by Swedish kings. Gustav Vasa was elected king at Strängnäs in 1523, giving the family a firm historical landmark. Its linguistic beginning is less firm: one proposal joins Old Norse elements for "Geat" and "staff," though the proposed Gautstafr is poorly attested; another traces it to Old Slavic Gostislav. A later Gustavo left a mark easier to read. After beating Michael Russell at Roland Garros, Brazilian tennis player Gustavo Kuerten, known as Guga, drew a heart in the clay with his racquet and knelt inside it. He explained the gesture as thanks for the spectators' support. The name's ancestry leaves alternatives open, but the meaning of that particular heart came from its maker.
How popular is Gustavo around the world?
In the United States, 2,604 babies were named Gustavo between 2020 and 2025. At the 2022 census, 680,738 people in Brazil were named Gustavo, the 19th most common name, with a median age of 17.
Gustavo is on the official records of the United States, Brazil, Chile, Puerto Rico, Mexico City, Montevideo, Argentina, Spain, France, Austria and England and Wales.
Gustavo crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of a Spanish-speaking record and of Brazil’s 2022 census, which counts people of every age. The full list: Spanish and Portuguese
United States
1 in 8,400
In the United States, 2,604 babies were named Gustavo between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Gustavo peaked in the 2000s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Brazil
1 in 300
At the 2022 census, 680,738 people in Brazil were named Gustavo, the 19th most common name, with a median age of 17.
Among people named Gustavo living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2000s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 39,518 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Chile
1 in 740
In Chile, 240 boys were registered as Gustavo in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Puerto Rico
1 in 1,300
In Puerto Rico, 14 babies were named Gustavo in 2025, and 1,644 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Mexico City City
1 in 1,300
In Mexico City, there were 91 registrations of Gustavo in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (5 registrations through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Montevideo City
1 in 1,3002011
In Montevideo, 19 boys named Gustavo were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Argentina
1 in 2,500
In Argentina, 268 newborns were given the name Gustavo in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Spain
1 in 3,400
In Spain, 13,097 residents are named Gustavo, the 220th most common name among men, with a mean age of 46.8 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
France
1 in 26,000
In France, about 25 boys named Gustavo were born in 2025, ranked 1,282nd among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 boy named Gustavo was born in 2025, ranked 1,842nd among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
England and Wales
1 in 120,000
In England and Wales, 5 boys named Gustavo were born in 2025, ranked 3,684th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Canada
last on record 2023
Gustavo is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Ireland
last on record 2012
Gustavo is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Poland
last on record 2019
Gustavo is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
South Australia
last on record 1997
Gustavo is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in New Zealand and Scotland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
Keep exploring
The Gustavo deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Gustavo truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Gustavo fits with your family’s names and surname.
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