Muhammad overtakes Noah as England's most popular baby boy name

Muhammad has overtaken Noah as the top boy baby name in England and Wales. Getty Images

Muhammad has overtaken Noah as the most popular baby name for boys in England and Wales, new figures show.

In total, 4,661 boys were named Muhammad last year, 484 more than in 2022, knocking the name Noah into second place with 4,382, down from 4,586 the previous year.

It is the first time the name has been number one.

There are three iterations of the name – Muhammad, Mohammed and Mohammad – in the top 100 list because the Office for National Statistics, which compiles the data, does not combine spellings. Three spellings of the name were also in the top 100 in 1954.

Muhammad is by far the most popular spelling last year, however, with the others in 28th and 68th place, respectively. It has been in the top 10 since 2016 and in the top 100 since 1997.

The spelling Mohammed first entered the top 100 boys' names for England and Wales at 91st place in 1924.

A spokeswoman for the ONS told The National its popularity was down to its religious significance.

It has previously said the name's dominance was due to a number of factors, including the increasing size of the Muslim community, which rose from 1.5 million in 2001, to 2.7 million people in 2011 and to 3.9 million in 2021.

The name remains dominant among Muslims, but its rise coincides with increasing diversity in names for baby boys generally, said the ONS. It could also be becoming more popular among Muslims living in the UK to remind them of their heritage growing up in a non-Muslim country, it added.

Oliver replaced George as the third most popular boys' name, followed by Leo, Arthur, Luca, Theodore and Oscar.

Olivia, Amelia and Isla held the top three spots for baby girl names for the second consecutive year, with Olivia maintaining the top rank since 2016.

The data shows that Muhammad was the most popular boys' name in four out of nine regions in England and 63rd most popular in Wales.

Meanwhile, Olivia was the most popular girls' name in five out of nine regions in England and the most popular in Wales. Lily, Freya, Ava, Ivy, Florence, Willow and Isabella round out the top 10.

New entries to the top 100 baby names include Hazel, Lilah, Autumn, Nevaeh and Raya for girls, as well as Jax, Enzo and Bodhi for boys.

Names including Holly, Robyn and Joseph were more popular in December, while Summer and Autumn were popular in their respective seasons.

The ONS said that the world of celebrity appeared to have influenced the increased popularity of some names, citing babies named Reign and Saint after those from the Kardashian-Jenner family and a rise in those sharing the names of pop musicians such as Billie Eilish.

However, it said names shared with members of the royal family, such as Charles, George, and Harry, were becoming less popular.