Distribution
Counting every spelling as one name, Mustapha is among the most widely carried men's names in the world — a classic that behaves differently in each region: a perennial top name in some countries, a heritage choice in others.
Mustafa has long ranked among the most common male names in Turkey, sustained both by religious tradition and by the towering civic legacy of Atatürk. Generations of Turkish men carry it as a first or middle name.
Across Egypt, the Levant, Iraq, and the Gulf, Mostafa/Mustafa is a staple of every generation — one of the core group of names honoring the Prophet, alongside Muhammad and Ahmad (see related names).
In Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, the French-influenced spelling Mustapha dominates civil records. It remains a common choice, familiar from public life and sport — including footballer Mustapha Hadji.
Senegal, Mali, Guinea, and neighboring countries favor Moustapha, reflecting both francophone spelling and the strong influence of Sufi tradition, in which veneration of the Prophet — al-Muṣṭafā — is central.
Bosniak communities have used Mustafa since Ottoman times, and the name is well established in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, often in compounds such as Ghulam Mustafa (“servant of the Chosen One”).
In France, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, and the United States, the name appears in every spelling, tracking each country's migration history: Mustapha in France, Mustafa in Germany and the UK, Moustapha in francophone Africa's diaspora. It is a steady presence rather than a trend name — it neither spikes nor fades.
Why it endures: names tied to religious devotion are insulated from fashion cycles. Mustapha's ranking moves with demographics, not with trends — which makes it one of the most stable names in any country where it is used.
Published baby-name rankings systematically understate Mustapha, for reasons worth understanding before quoting any number.
Official statistics count spellings, not names. A country with 300 boys registered as Mustafa, 260 as Mustapha, 180 as Moustapha and 90 as Mostafa will publish four separate entries, none of which cracks the top of the chart — while the name itself, counted properly, would sit far higher. Any ranking you see for one spelling is a fragment of the real figure. The forms are compared in the spellings guide.
Most of the countries where the name is genuinely common — across the Arab world, West Africa and Central Asia — publish no annual baby-name statistics at all. The available data comes disproportionately from Western Europe and North America, where the name appears mainly through migration. So the numbers that exist describe the diaspora, not the name.
This site does not publish precise ranks it cannot substantiate. Where sources disagree or coverage is missing, we describe the pattern instead — the editorial approach set out on the about page.
Related: which spelling dominates where · the devotional logic behind the name · names that pattern the same way