Hussein

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ORIGIN AND HISTORY

Hussein is an Arabic name that means "good-looking." It can be traced back to the Arabic hasuna, meaning "to be good," or "to be beautiful." One of the first forms of the name was Hasan, who in Islamic tradition was the grandson of the Prophet Muhammed.^[1] Hussein, or Husayn, was originally used as a familiar form of the name,^[1] much like calling Robert "Bobby."

As a surname, Hussein derives from the given name,^[1] possibly as a shorted form of a patronymic surname such as bin Hussein or al-Hussein, meaning "son of Hussein."^[1]

POPULARITY

In the United States, the name Hussein is very uncommon as a given name. It has not appeared on the list of top 1000 baby names in any recorded year.^[1]

Hussein is a popular name in Sweden. It ranked highest in 1999, when it was the 168th most popular name for baby boys in Sweden. In 2006, it ranked at number 206.^[1]

According to WhitePages.com, Hussein ranks at number 7,908 on the list of most common surnames in the United States. The highest concentration of people with the surname Hussein is to be found in Minnesota, followed by New York, California and Michigan.^[1] Other surnames with a similar ranking include Ginsberg, Lansing and Trump.

FACTS

• During the 2008 U.S. presidential elections, a large number of people using social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace changed their display names to show Hussein as their middle names. This was done in support of Barack Hussein Obama, who was elected the first African-American President on November 4, 2008.

NAMESAKES

• Tribute to King Hussein of Jordan, one of the most important allies to the United States of the 20th century.
• King Hussein Cancer Center, Jordan
• Noor Al Hussein Foundation: Community Development

FAMOUS PERSONS

• Hussein Agha: author
• Hussein bin Talal: King of Jordan (born November 14, 1935)
• Hussein Chalayan: fashion designer (born August 12, 1970)
• Hussein bin Dato' Onn: former Prime Minister of Malaysia (born February 12, 1922)
• Barack Hussein Obama II: US politician, presidential candidate in 2008 elections (born August 4, 1961)
• Khaled Hussein: musician/producer
• M. F. Husain: artist (born 1915)
• Saddam Hussein: former Iraqi president(born April 28, 1937)
• Taha Hussein: writer and literary critic (born November 14, 1889)
• Waris Hussein: film director (born December 9, 1938)
• Khaled Hosseini: author

Author: Sarena Ulibarri

NOTES