boy's name
Wassim
wa-SEEM
- Origin Arabic
- Gender Boy
- Letters 6
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 16,259
France
#148
2025 births
Wassim is a boy's name of Arabic origin meaning "handsome" or "distinguished," from a root about being marked out. It ranks 148th in France and is stable in our data, with records from 1976.
- Wassim is a name of Arabic origin.
- Peaked in France in 2017, when 850 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 1,456 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1976.
Wassim 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 | 150 |
| 1990s | 610 |
| 2000s | 3,755 |
| 2010s | 7,445 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,070 |
What Wassim means
Wassim means handsome, graceful or distinguished. The Arabic root wasama means to mark or brand, so the sense is someone bearing a distinguishing mark — good looks read as a sign of quality rather than as beauty alone.
Where Wassim comes from
Wassim is a French spelling of the Arabic Wasim, from wasama, to mark or to brand. The root's other derivatives include wisam, a medal or decoration, and mawsim, a season — which reached English as monsoon by way of Portuguese, because the seasonal winds marked the sailing calendar. Wasim carries the sense of being marked out favorably, so handsome is the usual gloss but distinguished is closer to the root. The name is common across the Levant and the Maghreb, and in South Asia as Wasim, where the Pakistani fast bowler Wasim Akram made it internationally familiar. French registers hold Wassim, Wasim and Ouassim as separate entries, which spreads a demand larger than any one spelling shows.
Wassim in use
Wassim ranks 148th in France with about 405 births in 2025 and is stable in our data with a peak in 2017. Our records carry it from 1976. It is rare elsewhere at 4,192nd in England and Wales and 8,113th in the United States, where the Wasim spelling carries most of the South Asian demand instead.
How popular is Wassim?
In 2025, Wassim was given to 405 babies in France, ranking #148 that year. It is a rare choice.
Where Wassim 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 Wassim
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Wassim also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Wassim over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Wassim 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 Wassim
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Wassim — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Wassim
What does the name Wassim mean?
Wassim means "handsome" or "distinguished," from a root meaning to mark or brand.
Is monsoon related to this root?
Yes — mawsim, a season, reached English as monsoon through Portuguese, because the winds marked the sailing calendar.
What is the difference between Wassim and Wasim?
Only spelling. Wasim is more usual in South Asian and British use.
How popular is Wassim?
148th in France.
Is Wassim a girl's or a boy's name?
Wassim is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
Is Wassim a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Wassim currently ranks #148 in France. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.