Mahmoud
Masculine · “praised”
Mahmoud is praised in Arabic — the passive participle of the root that gives Muhammad and Ahmad, all three from one word for praise.
How old is the name Mahmoud?
Mahmoud first appears in US birth records in 1968 — 57 years ago. The typical Mahmoud alive today was born around 2004, making them about 21 years old. About 2,700 people named Mahmoud are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mahmoud most popular?
Mahmoud peaked in 1995, reaching #1300 nationally. Today it ranks #2207, 907 places below that high. See the whole 1995 chart.
Where it comes from
From hamida to Mahmoud
The story of Mahmoud
Mahmud of Ghazni raided India seventeen times in the eleventh century and made his capital one of the great cities of the Islamic world. The name is one of five common given names built on the single root for praise. Mahmoud is the French-influenced spelling and appears in American records in current use.
Meaning
praised, praiseworthy
From the Arabic mahmud, the passive participle of hamida, 'to praise'. The root h-m-d gives Muhammad, Ahmad, Hamid, Hamdan and Mahmud — five names from one word. The Arabic is transparent and undisputed.
How the name formed
- hamida
- mahmud
- Mahmoud
Related forms: محمود · Mahmud · Mahmut
Pronouncing Mahmoud
mah-MOOD
Two syllables, stress on the second. The ou follows French spelling for the oo sound.
Nicknames for Mahmoud
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
- 1968
- Most boys named
- 201891 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1300reached in 1995
- Change vs 2024
- +3.2%64 in 2025, from 62
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.
Mahmoud in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- محمود in Arabic — transliteration
- Mahmud in English — spelling variant
- Mahmut in Turkish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, California, Michigan.
Mahmouds among us
people named Mahmoud are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 26,689 born in 2025 was named Mahmoud
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 Giacomo test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Mahmoud's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Giacomo climbed just as high around 1914, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Giacomo's path sketches the road Mahmoud is walking now.
Mahmoud 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 Mahmoud is headed
Mahmoud 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.
Mahmoud beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Mahmoud in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That five common names come from one root for praise is a first-rate fact.
- Mo is a warm and universally understood short form.
- The end stress gives it a strong rhythm against a front-stressed surname.
- Several transliterations are in common use.
- The French ou spelling will confuse English speakers.
- It reads as specifically Muslim.
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What they receive
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Mahmoud
Masculine · #2207 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Mahmouds are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,700 people named Mahmoud are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Mahmoud in 2025?
- Mahmoud ranks #2207 among US boy names in 2025, with 64 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Mahmoud?
- About 1 in every 26,689 US boys born in 2025 was named Mahmoud — 64 in all.
- Will my child share the name Mahmoud with classmates?
- Mahmoud will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Mahmoud
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Damarion#2207 · Canon#2207 · Gannon#2207 · Elam#2207 · Raleigh#2207 · Jaciel#2207 · Sylvester#2207 · Zayaan#2207
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mahmoud? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Mahmoud and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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