Mohammed Now the Most Popular Name for Baby Boys

Mohammed is now the most popular name for baby boys ahead of Jack and Harry [Excerpts]

By Jack Doyle

Mohammed has become the most popular name for newborn boys in Britain.

It shot up from third the previous year, overtaking Jack, which had topped the list for the past 14 years but was relegated to third spot.

Olivia topped the list for little girls for the second year in a row, behind Ruby and Chloe.

A total of 7,549 newborns were given 12 variations of the Islamic prophet Mohammed’s name last year, such as Muhammad and Mohammad.

The second most popular boy’s name, Oliver, was given to 7,364 babies.

Harry and Alfie came in fourth and fifth place respectively.

The official list, which covers all births in 2009 in England and Wales, has ­Mohammed at number 16 but this does not include the many different spellings, which are all ranked separately.

(Doyle, "Mohammed is now the most popular name for baby boys ahead of Jack and Harry," Daily Mail Online, 28th October 2010)