Explore the Family Name Musa
The meaning of Musa
1. Arabic: from the personal name Mūsā, an Arabic form of the name of the Biblical prophet Moses. The Koran says (19:51): ‘He was especially chosen, and he was a Messenger and a Prophet.’ It was borne by the seventh imam of the Shiite Muslims, Mūsā al-Kāẓim (c.745–99, imam from 765). This surname is found among both Muslims and Christians, in part as an Arabized form of any of the Assyrian/Chaldean variants such as Moshe and Moushe. Compare Moosa, Mosa, Mousa, Moussa, and Mussa. 2. Croatian: from the Muslim personal name Musa, a Turkish form of the Biblical name Moses (see 1 above). This surname originated as a nickname during the Turkish occupation of the Balkans. 3. Albanian: from Musë (definite form Musa), a short form of the Muslim personal name Mustafa, or from the Muslim personal name Musa, a Turkish form of the Biblical name Moses (see 1 above). 4. Italian (southern): habitational name from a place called Musa, particularly the one in Melito di Porto Salvo in Reggio Calabria, and the one in Nissorìa in Enna province, Sicily. Some characteristic forenames: Arabic/Muslim Mohammad, Ibrahim, Mohammed, Mustafa, Sami, Abdal, Bassam, Hussein, Jamal, Mazen, Muhammad, Musa. Spanish Jorge, Jose, Mario, Narciso, Carmelita, Cleofas, Eduardo, Esperanza, Jesus, Juan, Luis, Luz.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Musa in the United States?
According to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Musa significantly increased from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it ranked 13,256 among all surnames, but by 2010, it had climbed to the 8,773 spot, marking a 33.82% increase in rank. The count of individuals bearing the surname also grew substantially over this decade, from 2,111 in 2000 to 3,736 in 2010 - an impressive jump of 76.98%. Consequently, the proportion of Musa per 100K people rose by 62.82%, from 0.78 to 1.27.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #13,256 | #8,773 | 33.82% |
| Count | 2,111 | 3,736 | 76.98% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.78 | 1.27 | 62.82% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Musa
As for the ethnic identity associated with the surname Musa, the Decennial U.S. Census reveals some fascinating shifts between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of those identifying as Black with this surname nearly doubled, increasing from 19.47% to 36.86%. There was also a new appearance of Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native identities within the Musa surname bearers, though they remained a small fraction. However, the percentage of people with this surname who identified as White, Hispanic or of two or more races decreased, falling by 10.73%, 16.15%, and 68.75% respectively.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 50.4% | 44.99% | -10.73% |
| Black | 19.47% | 36.86% | 89.32% |
| Hispanic | 9.1% | 7.63% | -16.15% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0% | 5.89% | 0% |
| Two or More Races | 14.21% | 4.44% | -68.75% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0.19% | 0% |
Musa ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Musa is Levantine, which comprises 17.9% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are British & Irish (9.9%) and French & German (9.4%). Additional ancestries include Spanish & Portuguese, Italian, Egyptian, Greek & Balkan, and Eastern European.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| Levantine | 17.9% |
| British & Irish | 9.9% |
| French & German | 9.4% |
| Other | 62.9% |
Possible origins of the surname Musa
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Musa have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Lebanon.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 20.30% |
| Edinburgh, United Kingdom | 20.30% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 20.30% |
| Lancashire, United Kingdom | 20.30% |
| Kent, United Kingdom | 20.30% |
What Musa haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Musa is O-F2415, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F2415 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include E-M183 and O-F2859, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Musa surname are: H, L3, J1. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Cham
One of the many populations harboring members of haplogroup O1b1a1a1a1 is the Cham ethnic group, a group of people who speak Austronesian languages in Mainland Southeast Asia. Austronesian languages make up a language family that is extremely large and widespread, comprising over 350 million people on islands such as Madagascar, Easter Island, and many others. However, Austronesian languages are less common on mainland Asia, with a notable exception being the Chamic language. Research suggests that ancestors of the Cham people migrated from Southeast Asian islands to the mainland around the year 500 BCE, and that early Cham populations quickly began mixing with indigenous southern Vietnamese populations. As a result, the Chamic language now has words that were borrowed from languages spoken by indigenous Vietnamese people. It is likely that an ancestral Kinh population was one of the populations that mixed with the Cham people shortly after their migration to mainland Asia.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to the Vikings
By 4,000 years ago an offshoot of J had made it all the way to the western edge of Europe, becoming entrenched among the Celtic-speakers of the British Isles. But even that wasn't the end of the journey. Beginning in the 8th century AD, Viking raiders who regularly pillaged coastal Britain and Ireland often sailed back home with Celtic women aboard. Some of those women carried this branch, so that today there are Norwegians and even Icelanders with the far-flung J haplogroup.
What do people with the surname Musa have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Traits
Acrophobia
An intense fear of heights that goes beyond the concern many people feel around significant heights.
"Musa" Surname 43.8%
23andMe Users 16.7%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Musa" Surname 16.7%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Musa?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Musa are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition