Gustavo
Gustavo was the 625th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 447 babies. Its best year was 2000, when it ranked 260th with 1,290 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 99 places. More babies were named Gustavo in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Meaning Spanish/Italian form of Gustav · Old Norse, Swedish, Spanish
Say it guh-STAH-voh /ɡəˈstɑvoʊ/
- Rank in 2025
- #625 boys, down 2 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 447boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20001,290 babies
- Total since 1880
- 40,461babies recorded
What does the name Gustavo mean?
Gustavo is the Spanish, Italian and Portuguese form of Gustav, a Swedish royal name. DMNES explains Gustav as the tribal name Gaut, the Geats, plus Old Norse stafr, staff: roughly "staff of the Geats." DMNES notes a 16th-century king of Sweden of the name, and Wiktionary says the Portuguese form came from Swedish. In the US Gustavo has been used since the 1910s.
Gautr (Old Norse, “a Geat (tribal name)”)stafr (Old Norse, “staff”)
How sure is this? Probable. The tribal-name analysis is DMNES's; the meaning of Gaut itself is not given.
Related names: Gustav, Gustave, Gus, Gustaf.
See also: Scandinavian names.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Gustav', DMNES (Durham University)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Gustavo' (Portuguese section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Nicknames for Gustavo
The usual nicknames for Gustavo are Gus and Tavo. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Gustavo in the last five years, 39 were named Gus, against 6 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gus · also for August, Augustus, Augustine | Traditional | #1,331 | 851 |
| Tavo | Traditional | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Gustavos go by each one.
Gustavo popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 104 since 1975.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #625 | 447 |
| 2020 | #623 | 432 |
| 2010 | #412 | 684 |
| 2000 | #260 | 1,290 |
| 1990 | #343 | 722 |
| 1980 | #417 | 388 |
| 1970 | #493 | 271 |
| 1960 | #662 | 140 |
| 1950 | #816 | 70 |
| 1940 | #1,037 | 39 |
| 1930 | #1,088 | 41 |
| 1920 | #1,473 | 26 |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Gustavo, counting every spelling?
Gustavo has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #613 for boys in 2025, against #625 on the official list.
How many kids will share the name Gustavo?
447 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Gustavo (0.12 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Gustavo born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 19 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Gustavo.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Gustavo?
About 37,500 people born in the US named Gustavo are alive today, with a median age of 26; half are between 18 and 37. That makes Gustavo mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Gustavo by state
How common Gustavo was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Texas (2.2×), California (2.1×), Arizona (2.0×). In 20 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Gustavo: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Gustavo, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Gustavo · Sibling names for Gustavo
Questions about the name Gustavo
What does Gustavo mean?
Gustavo means “Spanish/Italian form of Gustav” (Old Norse, Swedish, Spanish origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Gustavo?
Gustavo was the 625th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 447 babies. Its best year was 2000, when it ranked 260th with 1,290 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 99 places. More babies were named Gustavo in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Is Gustavo a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Gustavo in the US.
Where is Gustavo most popular?
In 2021–2025, Gustavo was most common in Texas (0.55 per 1,000 boys), followed by California and Arizona.