Muhammad has become the most popular baby name for boys for the first time, new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed. The Telegraph has more.
The name has overtaken Noah, which came in second. Oliver was third in the 2023 rankings.
Olivia remained the most popular name for baby girls for the eighth year in a row, with Amelia and Isla the second and third most popular for girls.
Each year, the ONS analyses the latest baby name data, revealing the most popular – and unpopular – names in the U.K..
In 2023 there were 4,661 Muhammads born across England and Wales, up from 4,177 in 2022.
In contrast, only 4,382 Noahs were born in 2023, down from 4,586 the previous year.
In previous years, combining all the different spellings of Muhammad would have made it the top name, but this is the first year that just one spelling of the name has topped the list.
This year, the next most common variant of the Arabic name – Mohammed – is also in the top 50, coming in at the 28th most popular name in 2023, down from 27th place the year before.
An analysis by the Telegraph found that two of the fastest-growing boys’ names in 2023 were Arabic in origin: Ayman, up 47%, and Hasan, up 43%. Among girls, Arabic names also saw significant growth, with Aizal and its variant Ayzal rising 479% and 183%, respectively. Inaya, meaning “care” or “protection” in Arabic, increased by 48%.
The result is not so surprising given that in 2023 around a third (31.8%) of births in England and Wales were to non-U.K.-born mothers.
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