Mukhtar
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "chosen" or "elected".
Name Census estimates that about 143 living Americans carry the first name Mukhtar. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Mukhtar today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mukhtar births was 2018 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mukhtar. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Mukhtar with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
143
~ 1 in 2,396,883 Americans
Peak year
2018
13 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,442
Tracked since 1984
Census
Mukhtar in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 749 people with the first name Mukhtar, which placed it at #15,378 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#15,378
National first-name rank
People counted
749
749 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
43.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mukhtar
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mukhtar is Asian/Pacific Islander at 43.9%. The next largest groups are Black (32.4%) and White (16.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Mukhtar described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Mukhtar at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander43.9% · 329
- Black or African American32.4% · 243
- White16.3% · 122
- Two or more races6.7% · 50
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 5
Popularity
Mukhtar: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mukhtar from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 84 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mukhtar 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 Mukhtar during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mukhtars live
Origin
Meaning and history of Mukhtar
The name Mukhtar has its origins in the Arabic language and is derived from the word "mukhtār," which means "chosen" or "selected." This name has been in use for centuries and has a rich history and cultural significance in the Islamic world.
The earliest recorded use of the name Mukhtar dates back to the 7th century CE, during the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the early years of Islam. One of the most notable historical figures with this name is Mukhtar al-Thaqafi, who lived in the late 7th century CE and played a significant role in the Shi'a Muslim uprising against the Umayyad Caliphate.
In religious texts, the name Mukhtar is mentioned in the Quran, the holy book of Islam, as one of the attributes of God. This association with divinity has contributed to the name's popularity and religious significance among Muslims.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Mukhtar. One such person is Mukhtar Mai, a Pakistani woman who was born in 1972 and became an influential human rights activist after surviving a gang rape in 2002. Her courage and determination in seeking justice have inspired many around the world.
Another famous Mukhtar was Mukhtar Auezov, a Kazakh writer, and scholar who lived from 1897 to 1961. He is renowned for his historical novels and plays, which explored the rich cultural heritage of the Kazakh people.
In the realm of politics, Mukhtar al-Nuwayri was an influential Egyptian statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Egypt from 1919 to 1920. He played a crucial role in the Egyptian Revolution of 1919 and the country's struggle for independence from British rule.
Mukhtar Altynbayev, a Soviet and Kazakh military officer who lived from 1940 to 2022, was another notable figure with this name. He achieved the rank of Colonel General and served as the Minister of Defense of Kazakhstan from 1992 to 1995.
The name Mukhtar has maintained its popularity and significance across various cultures and regions, particularly in the Islamic world, where it continues to be bestowed upon children as a symbol of divine selection and admiration.
People
Mukhtar + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mukhtar as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Mukhtar: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mukhtar?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 143 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mukhtar 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 2,396,883 US residents.
Is Mukhtar a common name?
We classify Mukhtar as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 144 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mukhtar most popular?
The single biggest year for Mukhtar was 2018, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mukhtar is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Mukhtar in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 749 people with the name Mukhtar, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,378 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Mukhtar in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Mukhtar?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Mukhtar leans strongly male. 702 people counted with this name were male (94.0%), compared with 45 female bearers (6.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Mukhtar?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Mukhtar is Asian/Pacific Islander at 43.9%. The next largest groups are Black (32.4%) and White (16.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Mukhtar most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Mukhtar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.9% (329 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Mukhtar in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mukhtar a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mukhtar 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.
Is Mukhtar still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mukhtar in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Mukhtar can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people have Mukhtar as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.