Muhammad is the second most popular name for baby boys in Britain, new research has found.
According to The Times, the name is now second only to Jack and is likely to rise to number one by next year.
The newspaper says the name - if all 14 different spellings are included - was shared by 5,991 new-born boys during last year.
The name's increased popularity is thought to be partly because more young Muslims are having families.
The official register of names puts Mohammed at number 23, but an analysis of the top 3,000 names puts Muhammad in second place once the different spellings are taken into account.
Third on the list was Thomas, followed by Joshua and Oliver.
Professor of Ethnic Relations at Warwick University, Muhammad Anwar, said the increased choice of the Muslim name was down to a link with Islam.
He said: "Muslim parents like to have something that shows a link with their religion or with the Prophet [Muhammad]."
The name Muhammad first entered the top 30 list in 2000 and saw a rise of 12% in popularity last year, according to The Times.
It means "one who is praiseworthy".
There are several different versions of the spelling in the UK which can depend on a family's origins and a variance in pronunciation.
Mufti Abdul Barkatullah, formerly an imam at the Finchley mosque in London, said: "In Arab countries, the name Muhammad is said when you don't know the name of someone.
"When you get to the UK, it is essentially about translating the sound of the Arabic into English.
"A non-Arab Muslim would have the name ending in -ed while an Arab Muslim would adopt the -ad ending."
If we notice that in UK there are 500 000 muslims younger than 15 years old, this news doesnt suprise. It also doesnt suprise me that future of England will be islamic.
This country is dying because of a lack of men, not a lack of programs.
i mean, other than the Union Jack, it's a nickname NOT a real name...
Had the non-believer known of all the Mercy which is in the Hands of Allah, he would not lose hope of entering Paradise, and had the believer known of all the punishment which is present with Allah, he would not consider himself safe from the Hell-Fire http://www.muftimenk.co.za/Downloads.html
Ermm...no I'm pretty sure Jack is a real name bro!
EDIT: Nope, I stand corrected! By Wikipedia no less. It did indeed originate as a nickname.
Brother YusufNoor, I think you may have missed the point of the article ever so slightly!
Jack is a nickname for someone named John, which Brit's use Ian for anyway. and SOO HARD to greet at an airport! [hi Jack! boom you're arrested]
i didn't miss your point. other than always wondering why the name Muhammad is spelled in so many ways, i was wondering what #1 was!
of course when i saw this:
If we notice that in UK there are 500 000 muslims younger than 15 years old, this news doesnt suprise. It also doesnt suprise me that future of England will be islamic.
i thought: with all of the asabiyyah, i'm not so sure Aaron85 need worry.
i also wonder why the hadeeth that says that the names that Allah, Subhannahu Wa Ta' Aala loves most are Abdullah and Abdur Rahman, why are THEY the most popular names...
Had the non-believer known of all the Mercy which is in the Hands of Allah, he would not lose hope of entering Paradise, and had the believer known of all the punishment which is present with Allah, he would not consider himself safe from the Hell-Fire http://www.muftimenk.co.za/Downloads.html
If we notice that in UK there are 500 000 muslims younger than 15 years old, this news doesnt suprise. It also doesnt suprise me that future of England will be islamic.
I doubt that Britain will be Islamic anytime soon. Some day Muslims will stop immigrating to Britain, replaced by another group of immigrants. Britain will be multicultural in the future, most likely. I hope there will be a day when people will think of skin colour in the same way as hair or eye colour. Nobody would beat a man in the streets because he has brown hair, so why do they when people have brown skin?
I doubt that Britain will be Islamic anytime soon. Some day Muslims will stop immigrating to Britain, replaced by another group of immigrants. Britain will be multicultural in the future, most likely. I hope there will be a day when people will think of skin colour in the same way as hair or eye colour. Nobody would beat a man in the streets because he has brown hair, so why do they when people have brown skin?
Maybe you dont know but nowadays majority of racism victims in England are whites.
This country is dying because of a lack of men, not a lack of programs.
I doubt that Britain will be Islamic anytime soon. Some day Muslims will stop immigrating to Britain, replaced by another group of immigrants.
Already happened, pretty much. I suspect at the moment there are far more 'immigrants' (inverted commas as all EU citizens have the right to live and reside in the UK) from Poland and Eastern Europe than from all the predominantly muslim countries (and India) put together. Give it a few years and their babies will be arriving in bulk too, but England will no more more become 'Catholic' than it will 'Islamic'.
Britain will be multicultural in the future, most likely. I hope there will be a day when people will think of skin colour in the same way as hair or eye colour. Nobody would beat a man in the streets because he has brown hair, so why do they when people have brown skin?
On an optimistic note although there is still racist violence there is far less of it than there used to be. Kids who grow up in a multicultural environment become multicultural.. it just takes a generation or two.
Too bad it's not Puerto Rico or East Los Angeles. Then we would have the hilarious situation of half the boys named Jesus (pronounce HaySOOS in Spanish) and the other half Muhammed.
I take care of a patient who is in foster care and his foster mom is in the process of adopting him so he still has his birth surname which is the name of the religion which originated on the Arabian peninsula in the 7th century. He had some goofy, made-up first name but she calls him by the given name she has chosen for him which describes a follower of Jesus. You will have to figure out what it says on his insurance card so I don't violate confidentiality. :thankyou:
format_quote Originally Posted by Talha777
Insha Allah I will give the first name Muhammad to every son of mine that I have. Its a family tradition actually.
George Foreman tried that with "George". Not sure how it worked out.
It would be funny when there is a baseball chucked throught the kitchen window and mom says..."OK, who did it?"
All the boys point at each other and say in unison..."Muhammed did"
Last edited by Muezzin; 12-21-2007 at 05:08 PM.
Reason: merged multiple posts
Too bad it's not Puerto Rico or East Los Angeles. Then we would have the hilarious situation of half the boys named Jesus (pronounce HaySOOS in Spanish) and the other half Muhammed.
In Puerto Rico half of boys are named Muhammed?
This country is dying because of a lack of men, not a lack of programs.
I'm guessing he meant that half of the boys are called jesus, so if a lot of muslims lived there and called their boys muhammad, the entire country would be comprised of jesus's and muhammad's.
Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
When you create an account, we remember exactly what you've read, so you always come right back where you left off. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and share your thoughts. Sign Up
Re: Muhammad second most popular name
You will have to figure out what it says on his insurance card so I don't violate confidentiality. :thankyou:
Hide
Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks