boy's name
Mamadou
ma-ma-DOO
- Origin Arabic
- Gender Boy
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 11,210
France
#169
2025 births
Mamadou is a boy's name of Arabic origin meaning "praiseworthy," the West African form of Muhammad. It ranks 169th in France, is at its peak in our records now, and is one of the most common names on earth in its parent form.
- Mamadou is a name of Arabic origin.
- Peaked in France in 2025, when 340 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,734 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1958.
Mamadou over time
Births per decade in France, 1950s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 10 |
| 1960s | 50 |
| 1970s | 430 |
| 1980s | 1,430 |
| 1990s | 1,260 |
| 2000s | 1,670 |
| 2010s | 1,915 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,825 |
What Mamadou means
Mamadou means praiseworthy, or the praised one, from the Arabic root hamida, to praise. The name is a passive participle — one who is praised — rather than one who praises, which is the distinction most translations blur.
Where Mamadou comes from
Mamadou is the West African form of Muhammad, from the Arabic root h-m-d, to praise, giving the praised one. The same root gives Ahmad, Hamid, Mahmoud and Hamed, all of them variations on praise, and Alhamdulillah, praise be to God. The Mamadou form belongs to Wolof, Fula, Mandinka and Bambara speech across Senegal, Mali, Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire, and it sits alongside a family of West African adaptations that includes Ousmane from Uthman, Aliou from Ali and Ibrahima from Ibrahim. Muhammad in one spelling or another is generally reckoned the most common given name in the world. Its French standing is a direct measure of West African migration rather than of Maghrebi.
Mamadou in use
Mamadou ranks 169th in France with about 340 births in 2025 and is rising in our data, with its peak in our records in 2025. Our records carry it from 1958. It holds 1,757th in the United States and 2,344th in England and Wales, both reflecting West African diaspora communities rather than any wider use of the spelling.
How popular is Mamadou?
In 2025, Mamadou was given to 340 babies in France, ranking #169 that year. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Mamadou 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.
Names that peaked alongside Mamadou
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Mamadou also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Mamadou over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Mamadou 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 Mamadou
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Mamadou — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Mamadou
What does the name Mamadou mean?
Mamadou means "praiseworthy," from the Arabic root hamida, to praise.
Is Mamadou the same as Muhammad?
Yes — it is the West African form, used in Wolof, Fula, Mandinka and Bambara speech.
Are there other West African forms like this?
Yes — Ousmane from Uthman, Aliou from Ali, Ibrahima from Ibrahim.
How popular is Mamadou?
169th in France, and at its high point in our records.
Is Mamadou a girl's or a boy's name?
Mamadou is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
Is Mamadou a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Mamadou currently ranks #169 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.