Gust
Masculine · “staff of the Goths”
Gust is the front of Gustav or August cut to one syllable — a Scandinavian and German-American clipping that ended up on thousands of Midwestern certificates.
How old is the name Gust?
Gust was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Gust alive today was born around 1921, making them about 104 years old. About 300 people named Gust are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Gust most popular?
Gust peaked in 1887, reaching #330 nationally. See the whole 1887 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Gautstafr to Gust
The story of Gust
Gustav was the great Swedish royal name — six kings carried it, beginning with Gustav Vasa in 1523 — and August was equally standard in German. Scandinavian and German emigration to the American Midwest brought both, and speech clipped both to Gust. It appears in the registers from the 1880s and peaked around 1900.
Meaningscholars disagree
staff of the Goths; venerable
Two routes. Through Gustav, usually read as the Old Norse Gautstafr — 'staff of the Goths' — though the derivation is disputed and may be Slavic. Through August, from the Latin augustus, 'venerable' or 'consecrated'. Both parent names were common in the same communities.
How the name formed
- Gautstafr
- Gustav
- Gust
Related forms: Gustav · Gustav · Gus
Pronouncing Gust
GUST
One syllable. It is a homophone of the ordinary English word for a rush of wind.
Nicknames for Gust
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
- 192359 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #330reached in 1887
- Change vs 1977
- +20.0%6 in 1984, from 5
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.
Gust in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Gustav in Swedish — related form
- Gustav in German — related form
- Gus in English — related form
Gusts among us
people named Gust are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Gust sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Gustav behind it belongs to six Swedish kings.
- Gus is available as a warmer form with real currency now.
- One syllable, blunt, and never mispronounced.
- It is a homophone of an ordinary English noun that is not its source.
- The parent name is ambiguous between Gustav and August.
- It is strongly period-coded to the turn of the last century.
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Gust
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Gusts are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Gust are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Gust in 2025?
- Gust is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Gust with classmates?
- Gust will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More G names
The most-given names starting with G, all years combined.
George#126 · Gary#1073 · Gregory#593 · Gerald#1204 · Gabriel#37 · Glenn#1443 · Gavin#303 · Gordon#1051
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Gust? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Gust and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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