Mustafa means chosen. See it in Arabic, how to say it, where it is in the Quran and names like it.
Boy name · Arabic
مُصْطَفَىٰ
Mustafa
Chosen
See more boy names starting with M, or browse all Islamic names and save the ones you like.
Meaning
Mustafa (مُصْطَفَىٰ) is an Arabic name for boys. It means chosen.
In Arabic, words are built from a root of usually three letters. Mustafa comes from the root ص ف و, and words from the same root share its core meaning. Similar names from the same family of words are listed below.
The plural, al-mustafayn, the chosen ones, describes the prophets in 38:47.
وَإِنَّهُمْ عِندَنَا لَمِنَ ٱلْمُصْطَفَيْنَ ٱلْأَخْيَارِ
Wa innahum 'indanaa laminal mustafainal akhyaar
And indeed they are, to Us, among the chosen and outstanding.
Quran 38:47. Arabic: Uthmani text (Tanzil). English: Sahih International.
Say it mus-TA-faa. The capital letters show the stressed part. In English it is also spelled Mostafa and Mustapha. In Arabic it is written with 5 letters, from right to left: م mim + ص ṣad + ط ṭa + ف fa + ى alif maqsura.
Mustafa is a name with a good meaning, which is what the Sunnah asks for. The Prophet ﷺ said: "The most beloved of your names to Allah are Abdullah and Abdur-Rahman",3 and after these, any name with a good meaning is a sound choice. With the father's name it becomes Mustafa bin (and the father's name): see what bin, bint and abu mean.
Our teachers will check the Arabic spelling and meaning on this page before launch.
Questions
Mustafa (مُصْطَفَىٰ) means chosen. It is an Arabic name for boys.
The plural, al-mustafayn, the chosen ones, describes the prophets in 38:47.
Mustafa is used as a boy's name.
Mustafa is written مُصْطَفَىٰ in Arabic, said mus-TA-faa.
Both are English spellings of the same Arabic name, مُصْطَفَىٰ. Choose the one that is easiest to say where you live, and keep it the same on all documents.