Mustafa
A Muslim given name turned surname, ultimately from Arabic meaning “the chosen one.”
The #5,875 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 52,570 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Mustafa comes from Arabic مُصْطَفَى (muṣṭafā), a name formed from a verb meaning “to choose” and commonly understood as “the chosen one.” It is one of the traditional names associated with the Prophet Muhammad, which helped it spread widely as a personal name in Muslim communities. As a surname, it usually began as a patronymic or family-name adoption from an ancestor’s given name Mustafa.
History
The name is widespread across the Islamic world, especially in Arabic-, Turkish-, Persian-, and Balkan-speaking communities. In many places it became a hereditary surname only after modern naming reforms or administrative registration systems made fixed family names necessary. In English-speaking countries, it is often carried by immigrants and their descendants.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because Mustafa is also one of the honorific names linked with the Prophet Muhammad, it has been especially popular for centuries as a personal name as well as a source of surnames.
From the historical record
“Thomas M. 1447. Mustopf, Mustoph ÜI. aus Mustafa. Mnt-, Math-, Mttt- s. Mod. Mntsclieller IH. von Mutschelle, häufigem Hofnamen in den Alpen, roman. Herkunft,”
— Die deutschen Familiennamen