Gustav

Gustav carries the cadence of a string quartet warming up in a cold hall. Of Old Norse origin, most often read as staff of the Geats or staff of the gods, the name moved east with Swedish kings and settled comfortably into Czech, German, and Austrian registers. Mahler wrote symphonies under it, Klimt painted gold leaf onto Vienna under it, Flaubert loaned it to literature. In the Czech Republic it reads distinguished and a little formal, the name of grandfathers and cellists. Gustav has the rare trick of sounding antique and sturdy at once, courtly without stiffness. A considered, cultured choice.