Hussein
Masculine · “handsome”
Hussein is little handsome one — a double diminutive of hasan — and it belonged to the Prophet's grandson, whose death at Karbala split Islam.
How old is the name Hussein?
Hussein first appears in US birth records in 1967 — 58 years ago. The typical Hussein alive today was born around 2009, making them about 16 years old. About 3,300 people named Hussein are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Hussein most popular?
Hussein peaked in 2015, reaching #1307 nationally. Today it ranks #1886, 579 places below that high. See the whole 2015 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From hasan to Hussein
The story of Hussein
Husayn ibn Ali, the Prophet's grandson, was killed with his companions at Karbala in 680 refusing to acknowledge the Umayyad caliph. The event is commemorated annually at Ashura and is the central narrative of Shia Islam. The name is among the most-used in the Muslim world and is in current American use.
Meaning
handsome, good
From the Arabic husayn, a diminutive of hasan, 'good' or 'handsome', which is itself already a positive adjective. The diminutive is affectionate rather than belittling. The word is ordinary Arabic and the meaning undisputed.
How the name formed
- hasan
- husayn
- Hussein
Related forms: حسين · Husayn · Hüseyin · Hossein
Pronouncing Hussein
hoo-SAYN
Two syllables, stress on the second. Arabic gives the h a fuller breath than English does.
Nicknames for Hussein
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
- 1967
- Most boys named
- 2015135 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1307reached in 2015
- Change vs 2024
- −18.6%83 in 2025, from 102
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.
Hussein in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- حسين in Arabic — transliteration
- Husayn in English — spelling variant
- Hüseyin in Turkish — related form
- Hossein in Persian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Michigan, New York, California.
Husseins among us
people named Hussein are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 20,579 born in 2025 was named Hussein
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 Tige test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Hussein's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Tige climbed just as high around 1972, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Tige's path sketches the road Hussein is walking now.
Hussein 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 Hussein is headed
Hussein 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.
Hussein beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Hussein in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The handsome meaning is transparent and the affectionate diminutive is a good detail.
- The Karbala narrative is among the most consequential events in Islamic history.
- It is used across Arabic, Turkish, Persian and South Asian naming.
- Several transliterations are in common use.
- Twentieth-century political associations are strong for some readers.
- It reads as specifically Muslim.
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Hussein
Masculine · #1886 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Husseins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,300 people named Hussein are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Hussein in 2025?
- Hussein ranks #1886 among US boy names in 2025, with 83 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Hussein?
- About 1 in every 20,579 US boys born in 2025 was named Hussein — 83 in all.
- Will my child share the name Hussein with classmates?
- Hussein will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Hussein
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Adolfo#1886 · Rakan#1886 · Kyron#1886 · Xylo#1886 · Mayer#1886 · Wolf#1886 · Camdyn#1886 · Ezriel#1886
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Hussein? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Hussein and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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