Given name & surname
Mustafa
“the chosen one”
Mustafa is a variant of Mustapha. One Arabic interpretation is “the chosen one.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Mustafa is a variant of Mustapha. One Arabic interpretation is “the chosen one.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Mustafa is a variant of Mustapha. An origin associated with Mustapha is Arabic.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
From Arabic مُصْطَفَى (“the chosen one”); its root is Arabic ص ف و.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1963. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Mustafa through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 7,373
- 7,373 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 339 babies
- 2025
- 339
- #761 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +29%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 339 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 761 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 29.4% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (45). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 12,765 as a first name in 2020; 7,685 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.
Mustafa’s family of names
Mustafa has a related form in Mustapha. In French usage, Mustafa has a related form in Moustapha. In Turkish usage, Mustafa has a conventional equivalent in the French form Moustapha.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Mustafa has relatives in 39 languages.
34 related names in 39 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 34
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- MustafoUzbek
- Mostafaequivalent
- Moustafaequivalent
- 穆斯塔法Chinese, Mandarin
- Mostaphaequivalent
- ΜουσταφάGreek
- مۇستافاUyghur
- مۇستاپاUyghur
Show 26 moreShow fewer
- مصطفیolder form · Urdu, Persian
- Мустафа́Ukrainian, Russian
- มุสตาฟาThai
- முஸ்தபாTamil
- МустафоTajik
- MustafáPortuguese, Spanish
- 무스타파Korean
- ムスタファJapanese
- MustafàItalian
- मुस्तफ़ाHindi
- מוסטפאHebrew
- მუსტაფაGeorgian
- ՄուստաֆաArmenian
- মুস্তাফাBengali
- مُصْطَفَىArabic
- مصطفىArabic
- ముస్తఫాTelugu
- මුස්තාෆාSinhala
- ਮੁਸਤਫ਼ਾPunjabi
- मुस्तफाMarathi
- മുസ്തഫMalayalam
- Mistefakmr
- مستهفاckb
- ಮುಸ್ತಫಾKannada
- મુસ્તફાGujarati
- မူစတာဖာBurmese
People named Mustafa
- Mustafa Kemal Atatürkfounding father of the Republic of Turkey (c. 1881–1938)
- İsmet İnönü2nd President of the Republic of Turkey (1884–1973)
- Mustafa I15th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1617–1618, 1622–1623)1591–1639
- Mustafa III26th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1757–1774)1717–1774
- Mustafa II22th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1695–1703)1664–1703
- Mustafa IV29th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1807–1808)1779–1808
- Mostafa Madboulyprime minister of Egypt since 2018born 1966
- Mustafa Al-KadhimiIraqi politicianborn 1967
- Mustafa Abdul JalilDe facto leader of Libya from 2011 to 2012born 1952
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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If you love Mustafa, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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