Mustafo
A masculine given name of Arabic origin meaning "the chosen one".
Name Census estimates that about 146 living Americans carry the first name Mustafo. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Mustafo today is around 4 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Mustafo births was 2024 (47 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Mustafo. 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.
People living today
146
~ 1 in 2,347,632 Americans
Peak year
2024
47 babies that year
Average age
4
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,769
Tracked since 2017
Popularity
Mustafo: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Mustafo from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 122 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Mustafo 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 Mustafo during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Mustafos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio recorded the most babies named Mustafo, while Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Mustafo
The name Mustafo is derived from the Arabic name Mustafa, which itself is derived from the Arabic root words "mustafa" meaning "the chosen one" or "the elect". The name has its origins in the Middle East and the Islamic faith, and is believed to have been in use since the 7th century CE.
Mustafo is a variant spelling of the name Mustafa, which is the transliteration of the Arabic name into the Latin alphabet. The name Mustafa is particularly significant in Islamic history as it was the name given to the Prophet Muhammad by his grandfather, Abdul-Muttalib, who is said to have had a dream foretelling the birth of a great leader.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Mustafo can be found in the Qur'an, where it is mentioned as one of the names of the Prophet Muhammad. The name is also mentioned in various Islamic texts and historical records, cementing its importance in the Islamic tradition.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who have borne the name Mustafo or its variant spellings. One of the most famous was Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938), the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey, who played a crucial role in the establishment of the modern Turkish state.
Another notable figure was Mustafa al-Nahas (1879-1965), an Egyptian political leader and Prime Minister of Egypt, who played a significant role in the country's struggle for independence from British rule.
In the realm of literature, Mustafa Zayd al-Damashqi (1750-1830) was a renowned Syrian poet and scholar who made significant contributions to Arabic literature and poetry.
Mustafa Reşid Pasha (1800-1858), also known as Rashid Pasha, was an Ottoman statesman and reformer who played a pivotal role in the modernization of the Ottoman Empire during the 19th century.
Finally, Mustafa Barzani (1903-1979) was a Kurdish nationalist leader and the founder of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, who fought for the autonomy and rights of the Kurdish people in the Middle East.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Mustafo or its variants, highlighting its significance and cultural relevance in various parts of the world.
People
Mustafo + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Mustafo 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
Mustafo: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Mustafo?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 146 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Mustafo 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 2,347,632 US residents.
Is Mustafo a common name?
We classify Mustafo as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 147 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Mustafo most popular?
The single biggest year for Mustafo was 2024, when 47 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Mustafo is about 4 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Mustafo in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Mustafo a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Mustafo 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 Mustafo still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Mustafo 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 Mustafo 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Mustafo?
You can see how many people share the name Mustafo on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.