Hussain Surname Meaning and Family History

The surname Hussain originated from the Arabic personal name, Husayn, derived from the Arabic hasuna, meaning "to be good" or "to be handsome or beautiful." Hasan, for which Hussain is a derivative, was the son of Ali and the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

Surname Origin: Muslim

Alternate Surname Spellings: HUSAIN, HASAN, HUSAYN, HUSSEIN, HUSEIN, HUSAYIN, HUSSAYIN, HUSEYIN, HUSSEYIN, HUSEYN, HOSSAIN, HOSEIN, HOSSEIN, HUSSEYN 

Famous People with the Hussain Surname

• Maqbool Fida (M. F.) Husain: Indian painter
• Robert Hossein: French actor and director
• Saddam Hussein: former dictator of Iraq
• Hussein bin Talal: King of Jordan from 1952–1999

Where Is the Surname HUSSAIN Most Common?

According to surname distribution data from Forebears, Hussain is the 88th most common surname in the world, found most prevalently in Pakistan where over 3.2 million people bear the name and it ranks #2. Hussain is also the 2nd most common surname in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, 3rd in Saudi Arabia, 4th in Quatar and 5th in Bahrain. WorldNames PublicProfiler, which does not include data from Pakistan, indicates that Hussain is also fairly common in the United Kingdom, especially in the English region of Yorkshire and Humberside, as well as in Oslo, Norway.

Genealogy Resources for the Surname HUSSAIN

Contrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Hussain family crest or coat of arms for the Hussain surname. Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted.

• FamilySearch - HUSSAIN Genealogy: Explore over 370,000 historical records which mention individuals with the Hussain surname, as well as online Hussain family trees on this free website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• Family Tree DNA Discovers Y-DNA Signature That Might Represent the Prophet Mohammed: An article in the TheNational highlights DNA testing of the male descendants of Mohammed's daughter Fatima through her two sons, Hassan and Hussein. 
• GeneaNet - Hussain Records: GeneaNet includes archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Hussain surname, with a concentration on records and families from France and other European countries.

Resources and Further Reading

• Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.
• Dorward, David. Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998.
• Fucilla, Joseph. Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003.
• Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.
• Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.
• Reaney, P.H. A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997.
• Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.