Gustav, also spelled Gustaf (, ), is a male

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a ...

of likely Old Swedish origin, used mainly in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

n countries, German-speaking countries, and the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

, possibly meaning "staff of the Geats or

Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...

or gods", possibly derived from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

elements ("Geats"), / ("Goths") or ("gods"), and ("staff"). Another etymology speculates that the name may be of Medieval Slavic origin, from the name ''Gostislav'', a compound word for "glorious guest", from the Medieval Slavic words ("guest") and ("glory") and was adopted by migrating groups north and west into

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

. This name has been borne by eight

Kings of Sweden This is a list of Swedish kings, queens, regents and viceroys of the Kalmar Union. History The earliest record of what is generally considered to be a Swedish king appears in Tacitus' work '' Germania'', c. 100 AD (the king of the Suiones). Ho ...

, including the 16th-century

Gustav Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksför ...

and the current king, Carl XVI Gustaf. It is a common name for Swedish monarchs since the reign of Gustav Vasa. The name has entered other languages as well. In French language, French it is ; in Italian language, Italian, Portuguese language, Portuguese and Spanish language, Spanish it is ''Gustavo''. The Latinised form is ''Gustavus (name), Gustavus''. A side form of the name in Swedish is ''Gösta''. The name in Finnish language, Finnish is , while in Icelandic language, Icelandic it is written or .

People

Royalty and nobility

Sweden

*Gustav I (1496–1560), King of Sweden 1523–1560, whose reign marked the end of the Kalmar Union and the beginning of Swedish independence; founder of the Vasa dynasty *Gustav of Sweden (1568–1607), son of Eric XIV and Karin Månsdotter *Gustav II Adolf (1594–1632), or Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden 1611–1632, praised military leader during the Thirty Year War, sometimes referred to as the "Father of modern warfare" or "The Lion of the North" *Gustav of Vasaborg, (1616–1653), Swedish noble and military officer *Karl X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden 1654–1660 *Gustav III (1746–1792), King of Sweden 1771–1792, who highly influenced the arts of Sweden during the Neo-Classical era and who temporarily reinstated absolute monarchy *Gustav, Prince of Vasa (1799–1877), Crown Prince of Sweden *Gustav IV Adolf (1778–1837), King of Sweden 1792–1809 *Prince Gustaf, Duke of Uppland (1827–1852), second son of Oscar I and Josephine of Leuchtenberg *Gustaf V (1858–1950), King of Sweden 1907–1950 *Gustaf VI Adolf (1882–1973), King of Sweden 1950–1973 *Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten (1906–1947) *Carl XVI Gustaf (born 1946), King of Sweden 1973–

Other places

*Gustav of Saxe-Lauenburg (c. 1570–1597) *Gustav, Duke of Zweibrücken (1670–1731) *Gustav, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg (1781–1848) *Count Gustav Kálnoky (1832–1898), Austro-Hungarian diplomat and statesman *Gustav, 7th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (born 1969)

Others

*Gustav Åbergsson (1775-1852), Swedish stage actor *Gustav Elijah Åhr (1996–2017), known as Lil Peep, American rapper and singer *Gustav von Alvensleben (1803–1881), Prussian General der Infanterie *Gustav A. Anderson (1893-1983), American farmer and politician *Gustaf Andersson (politician), Gustaf Andersson (1884–1961), Swedish politician *Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836–1870), Spanish poet *Gustav Bauernfeind (1848–1904), German painter famous for his Orientalism, Orientalist paintings *Gustave Biéler (1904–1944), Swiss-born Canadian Special Operations Executive agent during World War II *Gustavo Charif (born 1966), writer, visual artist and film director *Gustave Colin (1814–1880), French politician *Gustave-Henri Colin (1828–1910), French painter *Gustav Hesselblad (1906–1989), Swedish military doctor *Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis (1792–1843), scientist for whom the Coriolis effect is named *Gustaf Dalén (1869–1937), Swedish inventor and Nobel Prize laureate *Gustave Doré (1832–1883), French artist, engraver, and illustrator *Gustave Eiffel (1832–1923), French engineer, designer of the Eiffel Tower *Gustav Fechner (1801–1887), German philosopher, physicist, and scientist *Gustav Fehn (1892–1945), German general during World War II *Gustav A. Fischer (1848–1886), German explorer *Gustave Flaubert (1821–1880), French writer best known for ''Madame Bovary'' *Gustaf Fröding (1860–1911), Swedish author and poet *Gustav Fröhlich (1902–1987), German actor *Gustaf Gründgens (1899–1963), German actor *Gustav Hamel (1889–1914), British aviation pioneer *Gustav A. Hedlund (1904–1993), American mathematician *Gustav Heinse (1896–1971) (real name Josef Klein), Bulgarian poet of Austrian origin *Gustav Anders Hemwall (1908–1998), American physician and pioneer in Prolotherapy *Gustav Henriksen (1872–1939), Norwegian businessman *Gustav Ludwig Hertz (1887–1975), German physicist and Nobel Prize laureate *Gustav Heynhold (1800–1860), German botanist *Gustav Holst (1874–1934), British composer *Gustáv Husák (1913–1991), List of Presidents of Czechoslovakia, President of Czechoslovakia * (1842–1908), German painter *Gustav Jäger (naturalist) (1832–1917), German naturalist and doctor *Gustav Jäger (painter) (1808–1871), German painter * (1865–1938), Austrian physicist and lecturer *Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961), Swiss psychoanalyst and father of analytical psychology *Gustav Ritter von Kahr (1862–1934), German right-wing politician in Bavaria *Gustaf Kalliokangas (1873–1940), Finnish president *Gustav Kirchhoff (1824–1887), German physicist who contributed to the fundamental understanding of electrical circuits, spectroscopy, and black-body radiation *Gustav Klimt (1862–1918), Austrian symbolist painter of the Vienna Secession *Gustav Knittel (1914–1976), German Waffen-SS officer and convicted war criminal *Gustav Knuth (1901–1987), German actor *Gustav Landauer (1870–1919), German anarchist philosopher *Gustaf Lantz (born 1981), Swedish politician *Gustaf de Laval (1845–1913), Swedish engineer, inventor and entrepreneur *Gustave Le Bon (1841–1931), French psychologist, sociologist, and physicist *Gustav Leonhardt (1928–2012), Dutch keyboard player, conductor, musicologist, teacher, and editor *Heinrich Gustav Magnus (1802–1870), German chemist and physicist *Gustav Mahler (1860–1911), Austrian composer and conductor *Gustav Meyrink (1868–1932), Austrian author, novelist, dramatist, translator, and banker *Gustave Moreau (1826–1898), French painter *Gustaf Munthe (1896–1962), Swedish writer, art historian, and art teacher *Gustav Nezval (1907–1998), Czech actor *Gustav Nyquist (born 1989), Swedish professional hockey player *Gustav Otto (1883–1926), German aircraft and aircraft-engine designer and manufacturer *Oscar Gustave Rejlander, pioneering Victorian art photographer and an expert in photomontage *Gustav Rochlitz (1889–1972), German art dealer *Gustav Scanzoni von Lichtenfels (1855–1924), German general *Gustav Schäfer (rower) (1906–1991), German Olympic rower *Gustav Schäfer, drummer for the German rock band Tokio Hotel *Gustav Schickedanz (1895–1977), German entrepreneur *Gustav A. Schneebeli (1853–1923), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania *Gustav Schröder (1885–1959), German sea captain *Gustav Schwarzenegger (1907–1972), Austrian police chief and Nazi German military officer *Gustaf Skarsgård (born 1980), Swedish actor *Gustav Spörer (1822–1895), German astronomer *Gustav Stickley (1858–1942), American furniture maker, invented the Mission style of Craftsman furniture *Gustav Sule (1910–1942), Estonian javelin thrower *Gustavus von Tempsky (1828–1868), Anglo-Prussian explorer and adventurer in New Zealand Wars *Gustav Vigeland (1869–1943), Norwegian sculptor *Gustaf Welin (1930–2008), Swedish Army lieutenant general *Gustave Whitehead (1874–1927), German-American aviator *Gustav Wood, vocalist in British rock band Young Guns (band), Young Guns *Gustavs Zemgals (1871–1939), Latvian president 1927–1930 *Gustav Zeuner (1828–1907), German physicist and engineer

In fiction

*Gustav (Zoids), transportation mecha from the Zoids fictional universe *Gustav Graves, villain in the James Bond series *Gus Fring, Gustavo Fring, businessman and major narcotics distributor in the Breaking Bad (franchise), ''Breaking Bad'' franchise

Other uses

* Gustave (crocodile), a large Nile crocodile in Burundi