Muhammad topped the list of most popular boy’s baby names in England and Wales last year, knocking Noah from first place. The figures, released by the Office for National Statistics this morning, show that Muhammad was the most common name given to newborn boys last year; 4,661 boys were named Muhammad with 4,382 Noahs. The year before there were 4,586 Noahs and 4,177 Muhammads.
When you analyse the names by different spelling, though, it becomes clear just how popular the name is. The spellings Muhammad, Mohammed, Mohammad and Mohamed combine for a total of 7,730 baby boys in 2023. That’s just over one in every 40 births.
While today’s news perhaps seems a milestone demographic change in Britain’s story, it’s really nothing new. When you combine the various spellings of Muhammad it’s been the most popular name for nearly 16 years – it’s just that this year is the first that a single spelling has come out on top.
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