boy's name
Kassim
ka-SEEM
- Origin Arabic
- Gender Boy
- Letters 6
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 6,072
France
#146
2025 births
Kassim is a boy's name of Arabic origin meaning "one who divides" or "distributor," and it was the name of the Prophet Muhammad's first son. It ranks 146th in France and is rising in our data.
- Kassim is a name of Arabic origin.
- Peaked in France in 2021, when 575 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,438 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1973.
Kassim over time
Births per decade in France, 1970s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1970s | 25 |
| 1980s | 50 |
| 1990s | 105 |
| 2000s | 270 |
| 2010s | 1,970 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,100 |
What Kassim means
Kassim means one who divides or apportions, from the Arabic qasama, to divide. The sense is favorable rather than neutral: the divider is the one who shares out fairly, which is why the name reads as generous rather than as separating.
Where Kassim comes from
Kassim is a French spelling of the Arabic Qasim, from qasama, to divide or apportion. Qasim ibn Muhammad was the Prophet's first son by Khadija, who died in infancy — the Prophet's kunya, Abu al-Qasim, father of Qasim, comes from him and is used as a respectful form of address, which gives the name a standing beyond its own bearer. The root's other derivatives include qismah, a portion or lot, which passed into Turkish as kısmet and from there into English as kismet, meaning fate. Kassim is common across the Arab world, in East Africa and among Muslim communities in the Comoros and Mayotte, and it is that last connection rather than Maghrebi migration that drives much of its French use.
Kassim in use
Kassim ranks 146th in France with about 450 births in 2025 and is rising in our data with a peak in 2021. Our records carry it from 1973. It is rare in the English-speaking markets at 5,007th in England and Wales, where Qasim and Kasim are the more usual spellings, so the true demand is spread across several entries.
How popular is Kassim?
In 2025, Kassim was given to 410 babies in France, ranking #146 that year. It is a rare choice.
Where Kassim is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
How Kassim is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Kassïm | Kassïm is Kassim written with a diaeresis, used in France, where it ranks #937. | 170 |
| Kâssim | Kâssim is a rare spelling of Kassim, written with a circumflex and recorded about 5 times, mostly in France. | 5 |
Names that peaked alongside Kassim
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Kassim also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Kassim over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Kassim in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Kassim
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Kassim — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Kassim
What does the name Kassim mean?
Kassim means "one who divides" or "distributor," from the Arabic qasama — the sense is sharing out fairly.
Who was Qasim?
The Prophet Muhammad's first son, who died in infancy. The respectful address Abu al-Qasim comes from him.
Is kismet related?
Yes — qismah, a portion or lot, passed through Turkish into English as kismet, meaning fate.
How popular is Kassim?
146th in France, where it is rising.
Is Kassim a girl's or a boy's name?
Kassim is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
Is Kassim a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Kassim currently ranks #146 in France. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.