Youssef
A surname from the Arabic given name Yūsuf, meaning “Joseph.”
The #8,854 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 83,445 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Youssef is a surname taken from the Arabic personal name Yūsuf, the standard Arabic form of Joseph. The deeper root goes back to Hebrew Yōsēf, meaning “he will add,” carried into Greek and then Arabic through biblical tradition. As a surname, it usually began as a patronymic label meaning “son or descendant of Joseph/Youssef.”
History
The name is especially common among Arabic-speaking Christians and Muslims across the Middle East and North Africa, and it also appears in diaspora communities worldwide. Because Yūsuf is a very common given name, the surname can arise independently in multiple families and regions. English-language spellings vary, with Youssef reflecting a French-influenced transliteration and Yusef or Yusuf also widespread.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Joseph/Yūsuf is one of the major shared biblical and Qur’anic names, which helped the surname spread widely across religious communities.