Given name & surname
Moustafa
“the chosen one”
Moustafa is a variant of Mustapha. One Arabic interpretation is “the chosen one.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Moustafa is a variant of Mustapha. One Arabic interpretation is “the chosen one.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Moustafa is a variant of Mustapha. An origin associated with Mustapha is Arabic.
Explained through its name family
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
Moustafa through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 356
- 356 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1999
- 19 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #13,277 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −39%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 13,277 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 19 in 1999. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,030 as a first name in 2020; 1,066 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.
Moustafa’s family of names
Moustafa has a related form in Mustapha. In Greek usage, Moustafa as a surname is a transliteration of Μουστάφα.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
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 Moustafa
- Moustafa ReyadhEgyptian association football player1941–2026
- Moustafa Amarmusician and actorborn 1966
- Moustafa SafouanEgyptian psychoanalyst (1921–2020)
- Moustafa ShakoshSyrian footballerborn 1985
- Moustafa BenshiSwedish association football playerborn 2002
- Moustafa MahmoudEgyptian athlete (born 2001)
- Moustafa FarroukhLebanese artist (1901-1957)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Moustafa, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.