Faisal
Masculine · “decisive”
Faisal is a word for something that decides. Arabic uses it for a judge who settles a case and for a sword that cuts cleanly through — the same word does both jobs, and the connection between them is the point.
How old is the name Faisal?
Faisal first appears in US birth records in 1973 — 52 years ago. The typical Faisal alive today was born around 2006, making them about 19 years old. About 2,100 people named Faisal are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Faisal most popular?
Faisal peaked in 1999, reaching #1574 nationally. Today it ranks #3036, 1,462 places below that high. See the whole 1999 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From faysal to Faisal
The story of Faisal
The word appears in classical Arabic for a decisive ruling and became a name of real standing in the Arab world, carried by kings of Iraq and Saudi Arabia in the twentieth century — which is why it is common well beyond the Arabian peninsula, in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia and across the Muslim world. It reaches United States records with families from all of them, spelled Faisal, Faysal and Fasal.
Meaning
decisive; one who separates right from wrong
Arabic faysal comes from a root about separating and dividing, and it names a decisive judgment, an arbiter who settles a dispute, and by extension a sword that cuts clean. The reading is documented. The image behind it is a single stroke that ends an argument, which is why the same word covers a judge and a blade.
How the name formed
- faysal
- Faisal
Related forms: Faysal · Faisal · Faysal · Faisal
Pronouncing Faisal
FY-sul
Two syllables, stress on the first, the opening rhyming with my. Arabic gives the middle a slightly fuller y sound; English speakers sometimes say fay-SAHL, which moves the stress and changes the first vowel.
Nicknames for Faisal
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1973
- Most boys named
- 201482 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1574reached in 1999
- Change vs 2024
- −14.9%40 in 2025, from 47
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Faisal in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Faysal in Arabic — transliteration
- Faisal in Urdu — same name
- Faysal in Turkish — same name
- Faisal in Malay — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Ohio.
Faisals among us
people named Faisal are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 42,702 born in 2025 was named Faisal
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Thomes test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Faisal's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Thomes climbed just as high around 1944, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Thomes's path sketches the road Faisal is walking now.
Faisal sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Faisal is headed
Faisal should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Faisal beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Faisal in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A vivid documented meaning that covers a judge and a sword in one word.
- Six letters, no silent ones, and readable at first sight in English.
- Recognized across the whole Muslim world without any explanation.
- English speakers reach for fay-SAHL on first sight until corrected.
- Faisal, Faysal and Fasal all circulate in transliteration.
- It is close to the English 'facile' in sound, which is an unhelpful resemblance.
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What they receive
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Faisal
Masculine · #3036 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Faisals are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,100 people named Faisal are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Faisal in 2025?
- Faisal ranks #3036 among US boy names in 2025, with 40 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Faisal?
- About 1 in every 42,702 US boys born in 2025 was named Faisal — 40 in all.
- Will my child share the name Faisal with classmates?
- Faisal will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Faisal
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Loren#3036 · Williams#3036 · Collier#3036 · Amadou#3036 · Kavion#3036 · Sheppard#3036 · Koi#3036 · Claude#3036
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Faisal? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Faisal and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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