Gus
Masculine
Gus is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 20,119 boys against 5 girls since 1880.
One syllable, three letters, and behind it a whole shelf of longer names: Augustus, August, Augustine, Gustav, Angus. It has been on American birth records for as long as such records have been kept, never fashionable enough to date a person and never so rare that anyone has to ask how it is spelled. In the mouth it is a single warm push of air, the kind of name that carries across a yard.
How old is the name Gus?
Gus was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Gus alive today was born around 1939, making them about 86 years old. About 8,800 people named Gus are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Gus most popular?
Gus peaked in 1882, reaching #121 nationally. Today it ranks #1328, 1,207 places below that high. See the whole 1882 chart.
Where it comes from
From Augustus to Gus
The story of Gus
The Latin augustus, 'venerable', became a title before it became a name: the Roman senate conferred it on the first emperor, and it passed down the line after him. Christianity carried it further through Augustine of Hippo, whose writings kept the name alive across medieval Europe, and it resurfaced in German and Scandinavian courts as August and Gustav. Gus is the English-speaking world's clipping of all of them at once, and it settled in as a name in its own right during the great nineteenth-century movement of German and Scandinavian families into the United States — which is part of why it still shows up strongly in Minnesota alongside California and Texas.
Meaningscholars disagree
Depends on the longer name behind it: 'venerable, majestic' from Latin Augustus, or the Norse name Gustav
Gus is a short form rather than a root, so its sense comes from whichever name it shortens. Through Augustus, August and Augustine it goes back to Latin augustus, 'venerable, consecrated' — the title taken by Roman emperors. Through the Scandinavian Gustav the meaning is genuinely unsettled; the second element is usually read as 'staff', the first as a reference to the Goths, but scholars do not agree. Through Scottish Angus (Gaelic Aonghas) the reading is 'one choice' or 'one strength'. Nothing in the record picks a winner among these roads.
How the name formed
- Augustus
- Augustinus
- August
- Gustav
- Gus
Related forms: August · Gustav · Guus · Agustín · Agostino · Aonghas
Pronouncing Gus
GUSS
One syllable, rhyming with bus. Hard g, short u, and no regional variation to speak of in English.
Nicknames for Gus
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 1921327 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #121reached in 1882
- Change vs 2022
- −26.0%145 in 2025, from 196
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Gus in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- August in German — related form
- Gustav in Swedish — related form
- Guus in Dutch — same name
- Agustín in Spanish — related form
- Agostino in Italian — related form
- Aonghas in Scottish Gaelic — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Minnesota, Texas.
Guss among us
people named Gus are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 11,780 born in 2025 was named Gus
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Gus sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Gus is headed
Gus should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Gus beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Gus in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Spelled exactly as it sounds — one syllable, three letters, no correction needed over the phone or on a form.
- Comes with several formal long names on the birth certificate if you want one later: Augustus, August, Augustine, Gustav, Angus.
- An unbroken presence in American records since record-keeping began, so it reads as established rather than invented.
- Recognizable across German, Dutch, Swedish and Spanish-speaking families through August, Guus, Gustav and Agustín.
- The living bearers skew heavily toward older generations, so many adults will hear it as a grandfather's name before they hear it as a baby's. That gap is closing as short vintage names return, but it is real now.
- Gus is also one of the most popular dog names in the country. Expect the occasional comment; it fades quickly once people meet the child.
- At three letters it can sit oddly against a very short surname — worth saying the full combination out loud a few times.
- Because it is a short form used as a full name, people will sometimes ask what it stands for. Having an answer, or cheerfully not having one, both work.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Gus to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Gus
Masculine · #1328 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Guss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 8,800 people named Gus are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Gus in 2025?
- Gus ranks #1328 among US boy names in 2025, with 145 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Gus?
- About 1 in every 11,780 US boys born in 2025 was named Gus — 145 in all.
- Will my child share the name Gus with classmates?
- Gus will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Gus
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Francesco#1328 · Gilbert#1328 · Sanad#1328 · Elvis#1328 · Bryant#1323 · Lucio#1323 · London#1333 · Noble#1333
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Gus? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Gus and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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