Given name & surname
Husayn
“the small handsome one; a good man”
In English use, Husayn has an alternative spelling in Hussein. One Arabic interpretation is “the small handsome one; a good man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Husayn has an alternative spelling in Hussein. One Arabic interpretation is “the small handsome one; a good man.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In English use, Husayn has an alternative spelling in Hussein. An origin associated with Hussein is Arabic.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English usage, Husayn is a diminutive of حسن.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1985. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Husayn through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 217
- 217 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 31 babies
- 2025
- 31
- #3,605 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +69%
- Rising fast
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 31 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 3,605 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 68.9% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (7).
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Husayn’s family of names
In English usage, Husayn is a diminutive of حسن. In English usage, Husayn has an alternative spelling in Hussein. In English usage, Husayn has a related form in Hussein.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 15
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 11
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
- Huseinspelling
- Ҳусайнoriginal script
- حسینoriginal script
- Hosaynspelling
- Hosainspelling
- Hoseynspelling
- Huseyinspelling
- Hussaynspelling
Show 3 moreShow fewer
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 5
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Husayn
- Husayn ibn Aligrandson of Muhammad and the 3rd Shia Imam (626–680)
- Hussein, King of HejazSharif and Emir of Mecca, then King of Hejaz and Sharifian Caliph (1854–1931)1853–1931
- Husayn KashifiIranian writer, astronomer and mathematician1461–1504
- Husayn ibn HamdanAbbasid general801–918
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Husayn, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.