Gustabo
A Hispanic/Spanish name meaning "staff of the war god".
Name Census estimates that about 381 living Americans carry the first name Gustabo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Gustabo today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Gustabo births was 2000 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Gustabo. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
381
~ 1 in 899,618 Americans
Peak year
2000
21 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2012 SSA rank
#11,282
Tracked since 1953
Census
Gustabo in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 579 people with the first name Gustabo, which placed it at #18,565 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#18,565
National first-name rank
People counted
579
579 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
97.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gustabo
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gustabo is Hispanic at 97.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.4%) and Black (0.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Gustabo described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Gustabo at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino97.8% · 566
- White1.4% · 8
- Black or African American0.3% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 2
- Two or more races0.2% · 1
Popularity
Gustabo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Gustabo from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 130 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Gustabo by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Gustabo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Gustabos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Gustabo
The given name Gustabo is believed to have originated from the Latin language, with its roots traced back to the Roman Empire period. It is likely derived from the Latin word "gustare," which means "to taste" or "to savor." The name may have been bestowed upon individuals associated with the culinary arts or those who possessed a refined palate.
In ancient Roman texts, there are references to individuals bearing names similar to Gustabo, such as Gustabius and Gustabinus. However, these variations may have been used as cognomens (surnames) rather than given names during that era.
The earliest recorded use of the name Gustabo itself can be found in medieval European records, particularly in regions with strong Latin influences, such as Italy and Spain. One notable figure from this period was Gustabo di Firenze (1250-1320), an Italian painter and architect known for his contributions to the Gothic style of architecture in Florence.
During the Renaissance, the name Gustabo gained popularity among the intellectual and artistic circles of Europe. Gustabo Marcelli (1455-1521), an Italian humanist and scholar, was renowned for his translations of ancient Greek texts into Latin.
In the 17th century, Gustabo Sanchez (1605-1678), a Spanish composer and musician, made significant contributions to the development of baroque music in Spain. His compositions for the guitar were highly acclaimed during his lifetime.
The 18th century saw the rise of Gustabo Montecchi (1720-1795), an Italian architect and urban planner. He was responsible for designing several notable buildings and public spaces in his native city of Bologna.
In the 19th century, Gustabo Laroche (1815-1892), a French explorer and naturalist, gained recognition for his expeditions to South America, where he documented numerous plant and animal species previously unknown to Western science.
While the name Gustabo has not been as widely used in recent times, its origins and historical significance in various fields, including art, architecture, music, and exploration, serve as a testament to its enduring legacy and the diverse individuals who have borne this name throughout the centuries.
People
Gustabo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Gustabo as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Gustabo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Gustabo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 381 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Gustabo going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 899,618 US residents.
Is Gustabo a common name?
We classify Gustabo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 397 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Gustabo most popular?
The single biggest year for Gustabo was 2000, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Gustabo is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Gustabo in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 579 people with the name Gustabo, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,565 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Gustabo in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Gustabo?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Gustabo appears almost entirely male. Of the 580 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Gustabo?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Gustabo is Hispanic at 97.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.4%) and Black (0.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Gustabo most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Gustabo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.8% (566 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Gustabo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Gustabo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Gustabo in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Gustabo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Gustabo in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Gustabo can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Gustabo?
See how many Americans are named Gustabo on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.