Gust
A surname that likely began as a nickname or trade name connected with appetites, taste, or a gusty word-form.
The #9,652 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 91,834 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The historical evidence points most strongly to a nickname or occupational byname from Middle English gust, meaning "taste," "relish," or "pleasure," ultimately from Old French and related Romance forms. Bardsley notes an early occupational form, Gustur, and connects it with the old use of "gust" in the sense of enjoying or relishing food. In some cases the name may also have been reinforced by the ordinary English word gust, "a sudden burst of wind," but that is less likely to be the original surname source.
History
The name is uncommon in England and the English-speaking world, but it has enough early presence to be treated as an established surname rather than a modern coinage. Historical dictionaries record medieval forms such as Gustur, suggesting an early English occupational or nickname origin. Later bearers may also have been influenced by the familiar modern word "gust," which could blur the original meaning for descendants.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 19th-century surname writer singled out Gust as one of several weather- or nature-themed names found in New York directories, even though its deeper origin is probably not meteorological.
From the historical record
“Bombay in 1805. Bleeker is a common name in New York; where I also find Bleak, Bleakhorn, Bleakie, Bleakley, Blow and Blew, Gust, Rain, Rains, Rainbold, Wash, W ashman, Washmore, DucKER, Reaker, Showry, Hail, Haill, &c. I find there eighteen families of Storm, and tw^enty-two families of Storms; also Tempest. Mr.…”
— Suffolk Surnames (3rd ed.)