Muhammad is the most popular name for baby boys in England and Wales in 2024, topping the Office for National Statistics (ONS) list for the second time in a row.
In 2024, over 5,700 baby boys were named Muhammad with that exact spelling — a 23% increase from the previous year — pushing it further ahead of Noah and Oliver, which held onto second and third place.
That spelling of the Prophet’s name (PBUH) has been in the top 10 most popular names for baby boys in England and Wales since 2016.
Although ‘Muhammad’ alone did not top rankings before 2023, when combined with other spellings of the name, it has long dominated the charts for over a decade.
Two other spellings of the name are also in the top 100 for 2024 — ‘Mohammed’ (21) and ‘Mohammad’ (53).
When you look at specific regions, Muhammad is the most popular boys’ name in five out of nine areas in England (North West, Yorkshire And The Humber, West Midlands, London, East Midlands) and in the top ten for two others (South East, East of England).
London, Yorkshire And The Humber, and the West Midlands also have the ‘Muhammed’ variation in the top ten.
Yusuf (68), Musa (73), and Ibrahim (78) all climbed the rankings compared to last year, while Yahya (93) was a new entry in the 100.
Layla (56) ranked as the highest Muslim-sounding name for baby girls in England and Wales, closely followed by Maryam in 57. Zara (69) and Fatima (77) also make the top 100.
ONS top 100
A hundred years ago, the name ‘Mohammed’ made its first appearance in the ONS Top 100, debuting at position 91 in 1924.
It has appeared in the top 100 most popular names for baby boys every ten years from 1924 to 1994 and every year since 1996. Three different spellings of the name were also in the top 100 in 1954.
The ONS treats each spelling of a name separately and has said that combining names with similar spelling would confuse matters, as it means making a ‘subjective decision’ on names.
“So to make a fair comparison either all names should be treated separately or all names on the list should be combined with names that have a similar spelling,” it said in a blog in 2016.
Other Muslim names also saw popularity in earlier decades — for instance, ‘Abdul’ was the only Muslim name featured in the 1934 ONS list.
Muslim names in the top 200 for England & Wales: Is yours there?
Boys’ names
1 Muhammad
21 Mohammed
53 Mohammad
68 Yusuf
73 Musa
78 Ibrahim
93 Yahya
106 Ali
123 Ayaan
127 Zakariya
130 Muhammed
136 Syed
137 Zayn
147 Abdullah
152 Abdul
153 Idris
163 Hamza
165 Mustafa
173 Ahmed
175 Mesa
175 Omar
188 Rayan
195 Amir
Girls’ names
56 Layla
57 Maryam
69 Zara
77 Fatima
104 Amaya
109 Aisha
110 Anaya
118 Amara
126 Zahra
138 Zainab
139 Amira
140 Safa
143 Khadija
148 Aaliyah
151 Dua
156 Inaya
162 Ayah
184 Yusra
188 Noor
198 Amina
199 Syeda
