Mustapha
Mustafa is one of the names of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in Muslim-majority countries.
- Arabic
Meaning & Origin of Mustapha
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Mustafa is one of the names of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in Muslim-majority countries.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Arabic
The Story of Mustapha
Mustapha first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1981, with 8 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 2004: 26 births, good for #3,534 nationwide. About 30% of every Mustapha on record arrived during the 2000s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Mustapha ranks #6,436 for baby boys with 13 births, holding steady (-4%). All told, over 664 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1980s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Mustapha
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Mustapha. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Mustapha
Phonetically similar names — useful when Mustapha is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Mustapha
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About the name Mustapha
Mustapha is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1981 and has accumulated 664 births in the dataset. Mustapha's peak popularity came in 2004 when it ranked #2,864. Use the chart and map above to compare Mustapha's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 2004 →
- Names of the 2000s →
- Names starting with "M" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.