Gustav von Wangenheim as Thomas Hutter with Greta Schröder as Ellen Hutter in "Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens"
Meaning: Possibly “Staff of the Goths”
Gender: Male
Pronunciation: GOO-stahf, GUS-tahf
Origin: Scandinavian, German, Swedish
Other forms of the name: Gustave, Gustaf, Gustaaf, Gustavus, Gustavo
Gustav is a very sleek seductive kind of name to me. In Denmark it ranks at #13, in Norway, #100, and in Sweden, #18. There have been several hurricanes named Gustav, one being the devastating 2008 hurricane that caused 138 deaths in Haiti, as of 2009 the name Gustav was retired and is now replaced by Gonzalo. Gustav I o Sweden, or Gustav Vasa, was a sixteenth-century King of Sweden. He was the first monarch coming from the noble Vasa family, in traditional Swedish history he is referred to as the founder of modern Sweden. Gustav thought of himself as Moses, he believed Moses liberated his people and established a nation, just like him. Though Gustav was a tyrannical ruler and known for having a bad temper, he loved music and had a sly wit about him. He established what is now one of the oldest orchestras in the world, today it is called the Royal Swedish Opera. Gustave is the name of a famous Nile crocodile and is the largest crocodile ever seen in Africa. In 2004 he was estimated to be about sixty years old. He is known for the bullet scars on his head and body. In 1921 handsome German actor Gustav Von Wangenheim played the Jonathan Harker-esque character Thomas Hutter in “Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens” the famous movie based on Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”. The name Gustav could possibly have come from the Slavic name Gostislav which means “Guest of Glory”.
Midwinter Names 