Youssef
Masculine · “he will add”
Youssef is the Arabic of Joseph — the Hebrew for he will add — and the Quran calls his sura the most beautiful of stories.
How old is the name Youssef?
Youssef first appears in US birth records in 1974 — 51 years ago. The typical Youssef is a kid of about 12 — this name's wave is very recent. About 3,700 people named Youssef are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Youssef most popular?
Youssef peaked in 2016, reaching #1037 nationally. Today it ranks #1554, 517 places below that high. See the whole 2016 chart.
Where it comes from
From Yosef to Youssef
The story of Youssef
The Joseph story fills a quarter of Genesis and is retold complete in the Quran's twelfth sura, which opens by calling it ahsan al-qasas, the most beautiful of stories. Yusuf is among the most-used names in the Muslim world. North African and Levantine emigration brought the Youssef spelling to Europe and America, where it is rising and in current use.
Meaning
he will add, may God increase
From the Hebrew Yosef, from yasaf, 'to add' — Rachel names him saying may the Lord add another son. Arabic took it as Yusuf. The Hebrew is ordinary and the meaning undisputed. Youssef is the French-influenced transliteration used across North Africa and the Levant.
How the name formed
- Yosef
- Yusuf
- Youssef
Related forms: يوسف · Yusuf · Yusuf · Yosef
Pronouncing Youssef
YOO-sef
Two syllables, stress on the first. Arabic Yusuf gives both vowels a fuller value; the ou spelling follows French convention.
Nicknames for Youssef
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
- 1974
- Most boys named
- 2017193 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1037reached in 2016
- Change vs 2024
- +2.8%110 in 2025, from 107
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.
Youssef in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- يوسف in Arabic — transliteration
- Yusuf in English — spelling variant
- Yusuf in Turkish — same name
- Yosef in Hebrew — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, California, Florida.
Youssefs among us
people named Youssef are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 15,528 born in 2025 was named Youssef
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 Tedd test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Youssef's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Tedd climbed just as high around 1963, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Tedd's path sketches the road Youssef is walking now.
Youssef 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 Youssef is headed
Youssef 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.
Youssef beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Youssef in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is a complete statement and is undisputed.
- The same figure carries a major narrative in both the Bible and the Quran.
- It is used across Arabic, Turkish and Persian with minimal change.
- Yusuf is the commoner transliteration in English-speaking countries.
- The double s and ou will need dictating.
- Joseph is the form English speakers will assume as an equivalent.
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Youssef
Masculine · #1554 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Youssefs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,700 people named Youssef are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Youssef in 2025?
- Youssef ranks #1554 among US boy names in 2025, with 110 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Youssef?
- About 1 in every 15,528 US boys born in 2025 was named Youssef — 110 in all.
- Will my child share the name Youssef with classmates?
- Youssef will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Youssef
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Emmet#1554 · Navy#1554 · Cypress#1554 · Paulo#1554 · Jeffery#1554 · Kysen#1554 · Zayvion#1554 · Rylen#1554
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Youssef? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Youssef and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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