Mustafa

Did you know?

A few things about Mustafa you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Mustafa

Mustafa Balel

Turkish translator and writer (born 1945)

Choose Mustafa and your child shares a first name with Mustafa Balel, a Turkish translator and writer. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Mustafa, like who?” Mustafa Balel's Wikipedia article is available in 35 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Mustafa Balel on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Youri2013, CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 5,038 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Mustafa, 339 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Mustafa would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryMustafa first shows up in US birth records in 1963, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 62 years since.
• 🏆Best yearMustafa is at its all-time high right now: #760 in 2025.
• 📈Then vs nowMustafa is 2.7× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 13,550 baby boys; in 2025, about 1 in 5,038.
• 🚀TrendMustafa has climbed 284 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #760. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 📍Where it's lovedMustafa is most popular in Minnesota, where it ranks #392, followed by New York (#407) and New Jersey (#412). It's in the top 1,000 in 17 states.
• 💬MeaningIn Arabic, Mustafa means “chosen one”.

About the name Mustafa

Mustafa is a boy name meaning “chosen one”. It has 7 letters and 3 syllables, starting with M and ending in “-afa”. US birth records list Mustafa for boys from 1963 to 2025, in 59 of those 63 years. Its best year was 2025, when it ranked #760 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #760, with 339 babies.