Gaston

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 17 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Gaston is also recorded as 6 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name245K records spelled Gaston17 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Argentina, United States, Netherlands, Brazil

  Languages: Spanish, English, Portuguese

  Also written Gastón, Gastôn, Gastõn, Gaşton, Ģaston

• a separate given name9.1K records spelled Gaston3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Ecuador, United Kingdom, Bolivia

  Also written Gastón, Gast-On

• Lao given name3.8K records spelled Gaston24 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Laos, Thailand, United States, Chile

  Languages: Lao, Thai

  Also written Gastón, แกสตัน, กาสตอง, Gastòn, Gástón

• Catalan given name2.4K records spelled Gaston2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Spain, Argentina

  Also written Gastón

• Swahili given name2.3K records spelled Gaston7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Tanzania, United States, Congo - Kinshasa, Kenya

  Languages: Swahili, Kinyarwanda

  Also written Gastón

• Danish given name1.2K records spelled Gaston9 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Denmark, United States, Norway, Spain

  Languages: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian Bokmål

  Also written Gastón, Gastòn

82 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Gaston is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In French, Old French name, likely from Germanic gast, 'guest'; St Gaston.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In French, from the Old French oblique case of a Germanic personal name, originally probably a byname from gasti ‘stranger’, ‘guest’, ‘host’. Compare Guest. The surname is also found in England and Ireland, where it is probably a Huguenot importation.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In French, sonal name, originally probably a byname from gasti stran¬ Gaufreteau see Galofre ger, guest, host (cf. Guest). The surname is also found in Gauge see Gage England and Ireland, where it is probably a Norman im¬ Gaughan see Gahan portation. someone who lived by a main road or street, from Northern

  as a name·The Oxford Names Companion - The definitive guide to Surnames, First Names, and Place Names of the British Isles

• Of uncertain origin; a traditional name in aristocratic families of Languedoc. Gaut(h)ier 3 Germanic. See ) Walter in main dictionary. Geneviéve 2° Name of the patron saint of Paris. See main dictionary.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In French, Prénom médiéval; origine germanique, « hôte ».

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 142 years between 1881–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Gaston, Duke of Orléansb. 1608FRFrench prince
• Ernest Solvayb. 1838BEnot in their usual nameBelgian chemist, industrialist, philanthropist (1838-1922)
• Gaston Parisb. 1839FRFrench medievalist and writer (1839-1903)
• Gaston Doumergueb. 1863FRFrench lawyer and statesman (1863–1937)
• Gaston Lerouxb. 1868FRFrench author and journalist (1868–1927)
• Gaston Bachelardb. 1884FRFrench writer and philosopher (1884-1962)
• Enrico Maciasb. 1938FRnot in their usual nameFrench recording artist; singer
• Franck Sauzéeb. 1965FRnot in their usual nameFrench association football player and manager
• Gaston Browneb. 1967AGPrime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda since 2014
• Roberto Orcib. 1973USnot in their usual nameAmerican screenwriter producer (1973—2025)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,044 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Gaston?

We estimate roughly 101 thousand people bear Gaston (counting its spellings and scripts) across 10 countries in our records.

In which country does Gaston have the most bearers?

Gaston is most frequently recorded in Argentina, where it is most often spelled gaston.

How common is Gaston compared with other names?

In Argentina, Gaston is the 116th most common given name of 517,176 given names recorded there.

Is Gaston a male or female name?

Gaston is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Gaston mean?

Recorded meaning: Germanic origin, from gast- ‘guest, stranger’; linked to St Gaston of Arras (feast day 18 Nov.).