Husein
A masculine Arabic name meaning "handsome" or "good".
Name Census estimates that about 86 living Americans carry the first name Husein. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Husein today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Husein births was 2000 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Husein. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Husein. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
86
~ 1 in 3,985,516 Americans
Peak year
2000
8 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2013 SSA rank
#11,250
Tracked since 1981
Popularity
Husein: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Husein from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 39 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Husein remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Husein by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Husein during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Husein
The name Husein is an Arabic name that has its origins in the Semitic root ḥ-s-n, which means "good" or "handsome." It is a variant spelling of the more common Arabic name Hussein, which is derived from the Arabic word "al-Husayn," meaning "the good one" or "the handsome one."
The name Husein has a strong connection to the Islamic faith and history. It is closely associated with al-Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and one of the most revered figures in Shia Islam. Al-Hussein was martyred in the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE, and his sacrifice is commemorated annually during the Shia mourning ritual of Ashura.
The earliest recorded use of the name Husein can be traced back to the 7th century CE, during the early years of Islam. It was initially used exclusively within the Arab world but later spread to other regions as Islam expanded.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Husein. One of the earliest was Husein ibn Ali, the son of Ali ibn Abi Talib and Fatimah, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad. He was born in 626 CE and was killed in the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE.
Another prominent figure was Husein ibn Mansur al-Hallaj, a Persian mystic and poet who lived from 858 CE to 922 CE. He was known for his controversial teachings on the concept of unity with God and was eventually executed for blasphemy.
In the 20th century, Husein bin Ali, the Sharif of Mecca and the last ruler of the Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz, played a significant role in the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. He was born in 1854 and died in 1931.
Husein Khayri, an Egyptian actor, and filmmaker, was also a notable bearer of the name. He was born in 1899 and died in 1973, and is considered one of the pioneers of Egyptian cinema.
Lastly, Husein Fahri Jafer, an Iraqi Kurdish politician and former Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, was born in 1959. He held the position of Prime Minister from 2009 to 2012.
People
Husein + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Husein as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Husein: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Husein?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 86 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Husein going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 3,985,516 US residents.
Is Husein a common name?
We classify Husein as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 88 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Husein most popular?
The single biggest year for Husein was 2000, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Husein is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Husein a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Husein in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.