Given name & surname
Mostafa
“the chosen one”
Mostafa is a variant of Mustapha. One Arabic interpretation is “the chosen one.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Mostafa is a variant of Mustapha. One Arabic interpretation is “the chosen one.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Arabic.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1978. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Mostafa through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 755
- 755 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2017
- 35 babies
- 2025
- 16
- #5,766 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −45%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 16 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 5,766 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 44.8% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 35 in 2017. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,768 as a first name in 2020; 1,511 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Mostafa’s family of names
Mostafa has a related form in Mustapha. Mostafa has a related form in Mustufa. Mostafa is a Roman-alphabet rendering of Мостафа.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Mostafa
- Mostafa ZikoEgyptian association football playerborn 1997
- Mostafa MohamedEgyptian association football playerborn 1997
- Mostafa ChamranIranian politician (1932-1981)
- Mostafa ShobeirEgyptian association football playerborn 2000
- Mostafa PourmohammadiIranian clericborn 1960
- Mostafa ZamaniIranian actorborn 1982
- Mostafa Mohammad-NajjarIranian politicianborn 1956
- Mostafa TahaEgyptian footballer1910–1969
- Mostafa FathiEgyptian association football playerborn 1994
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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