Fun Facts About the Name Boubacar
- 522 babies named Boubacar: U.S. records list 522 babies given the name Boubacar from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Boubacar Mean?
Boubacar is a West African form of the Arabic name Abū Bakr (أبو بكر), a kunya meaning "father of Bakr." In Arabic, abū means "father of," and Bakr is a personal name traditionally explained as "young camel" or "colt."
The byname belonged to Abdullah ibn Uthman (c. 573 - 634), the first caliph of Islam and a close companion of the Prophet Muhammad, who was known as Abu Bakr. The kunya became a personal name in its own right across the Muslim world, and in West Africa it was adapted to local sound patterns as Boubacar. Related forms include Boubakar, Bubacarr, and the longer Aboubacar, which keeps an initial a- closer to the Arabic Abū. The literal translation is "father of Bakr"; its customary sense is simply the name of the first caliph.
Boubacar Name History & Origins
The name came to West Africa with the spread of Islam through Trans-Saharan trade and the work of Muslim scholars, clerics, and merchants from North Africa. Arabic names were adopted widely by Fula (Fulani), Wolof, Mandinka, Bambara, and neighboring Muslim communities, and Abū Bakr was reshaped in those languages into Boubacar, Boubakar, and similar spellings. The Islamic reformer and founder of the Sokoto Caliphate, Usman dan Fodio, named a son and successor Muhammad Bello's associate…
Because the name commemorates the first caliph, Abu Bakr, it has been especially common among Muslim families in Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Guinea, Mauritania, and northern Nigeria. The Hausa form is usually Abubakar or Bubakar; the Wolof and Fula forms are typically Boubacar or Bubacarr. Beyond West Africa, the same Arabic name appears as Abu Bakr in the Arab world and as Abubakr, Abubakar, or Bakr elsewhere in the Muslim world.
The short form Bakary, used in parts of West Africa, is related through the element Bakr rather than being a direct shortening of Boubacar. Boubacar itself has no separate literary origin story: it is a regional pronunciation and spelling of the Arabic name of the first caliph.
How Popular is the Name Boubacar?
Boubacar has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2016. Its best rank was #3,873 in 2004.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #4,727 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 2024 | #3,986 | 27 | 0.0016% |
| 2023 | #5,690 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2022 | #4,871 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2021 | #4,383 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2020 | #4,291 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2019 | #4,502 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 2018 | #4,941 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2017 | #4,342 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 2016 | #3,890 | 27 | 0.0014% |
| 2015 | #5,084 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2014 | #4,028 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 2013 | #3,980 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 2012 | #5,059 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2011 | #4,122 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 2010 | #5,070 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2009 | #5,126 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2008 | #6,805 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2007 | #4,655 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 2006 | #4,883 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2005 | #4,649 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2004 | #3,873 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 2003 | #4,298 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2002 | #6,137 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2001 | #9,397 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2000 | #10,551 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1999 | #6,092 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1998 | #9,794 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1997 | #6,678 | 8 | 0.0004% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Boubacar Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You can go to great heights and equally great depths. You are emotional and fixed in your opinions. You are hospitable, sentimental, often psychic, sometimes moody. You are ruled by love and the lack of it and feel a need to be encouraged and appreciated. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.
You desire to inspire and lead, to control other's affairs. You are giving, courageous and bold, action oriented,energetic and strong willed. You want to make a difference in the world, and this attitude often attracts you to cultural interests, politics, social issues, and the cultivation of your creative talents.
✦ Boubacar's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Boubacar's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.