Fun Facts About the Name Yousef
- More than 7 thousand babies named Yousef: U.S. records list 7,008 babies given the name Yousef from 1880 through 2025. Even 5 girls received the name Yousef - about 1 girl for every 1,401 boys.
What Does the Name Yousef Mean?
Yousef is an English transliteration of the Arabic name Yūsuf (يوسف), meaning "God increases" or "may God add." The Arabic name corresponds to the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף), which is built on the root y-s-p (יסף), "to add" or "to increase." In the Hebrew Bible, Rachel names her son Joseph with the words, 'May the LORD add to me another son' (Genesis 30:24), tying the name to that root. The Arabic form Yūsuf does not derive from an Arabic root with this meaning; it preserves the Hebrew name's sense as a borrowed proper name.
Yousef Name History & Origins
The Arabic form Yūsuf is the name of the prophet Yusuf, son of Yaʿqub, whose story fills Surah 12 of the Quran, Sūrat Yūsuf. Arabic tradition identifies him with the biblical Joseph. The name corresponds to Hebrew Yosef, and the exact route by which it entered Arabic is not certain. From Arabic, the name spread through the Middle East, North Africa, and Muslim communities in Asia and Europe, and it is used by Arabic-speaking Christians as well as Muslims. In English, Yousef is one of several transliterations of the Arabic name, alongside Yusuf, Yousif, Youssef, and Yusef. The English name Joseph developed separately through Greek Iōsēph and Latin Ioseph; Yousef follows the Arabic line.
How Popular is the Name Yousef?
Yousef recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2025. Its best rank was #725 in 2017.
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 | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | #18,061 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #745 | 349 | 0.0204% |
| 2024 | #766 | 331 | 0.0193% |
| 2023 | #825 | 297 | 0.0174% |
| 2022 | #906 | 255 | 0.0146% |
| 2021 | #896 | 257 | 0.0147% |
| 2020 | #865 | 262 | 0.0152% |
| 2019 | #762 | 312 | 0.0174% |
| 2018 | #792 | 286 | 0.0158% |
| 2017 | #725 | 330 | 0.0178% |
| 2016 | #775 | 309 | 0.0163% |
| 2015 | #789 | 296 | 0.0154% |
| 2014 | #765 | 307 | 0.0160% |
| 2013 | #855 | 251 | 0.0133% |
| 2012 | #892 | 235 | 0.0124% |
| 2011 | #1,022 | 188 | 0.0099% |
| 2010 | #993 | 199 | 0.0104% |
| 2009 | #1,042 | 184 | 0.0093% |
| 2008 | #1,066 | 177 | 0.0087% |
| 2007 | #1,214 | 146 | 0.0070% |
| 2006 | #1,365 | 119 | 0.0058% |
| 2005 | #1,079 | 153 | 0.0077% |
| 2004 | #1,060 | 152 | 0.0077% |
| 2003 | #1,209 | 122 | 0.0062% |
| 2002 | #1,002 | 156 | 0.0080% |
| 2001 | #1,109 | 129 | 0.0066% |
| 2000 | #1,020 | 144 | 0.0073% |
| 1999 | #1,234 | 102 | 0.0053% |
| 1998 | #1,145 | 110 | 0.0058% |
| 1997 | #1,467 | 74 | 0.0039% |
| 1996 | #1,399 | 76 | 0.0040% |
| 1995 | #1,490 | 65 | 0.0034% |
| 1994 | #1,408 | 70 | 0.0036% |
| 1993 | #1,661 | 54 | 0.0028% |
| 1992 | #1,913 | 43 | 0.0022% |
| 1991 | #1,767 | 46 | 0.0023% |
| 1990 | #1,907 | 41 | 0.0020% |
| 1989 | #1,830 | 42 | 0.0021% |
| 1988 | #1,524 | 49 | 0.0026% |
| 1987 | #1,708 | 40 | 0.0021% |
| 1986 | #1,960 | 31 | 0.0017% |
| 1985 | #1,723 | 36 | 0.0019% |
| 1984 | #1,977 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 1983 | #1,864 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 1982 | #2,829 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 1981 | #1,994 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 1980 | #2,161 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 1979 | #3,564 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1978 | #3,851 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1975 | #3,075 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1974 | #6,003 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1971 | #5,649 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1970 | #5,426 | 5 | 0.0003% |
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 Yousef Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual. You hate bondage in any form. You have love of beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You are willing to take spiritual matters on faith instead of subjecting them to mental analysis. You are inventive, intuitive and extremely methodical. Since your will is so strong, you are hard to convince. You also dislike advice. You love beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual.
You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Yousef's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Yousef's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.