muselman
Junior Member
:salam2:
For the last 13 years it has reigned supreme as the most popular boy's name in the land.
But in multicultural Britain, children named after the Muslim prophet Mohammed could soon be outnumbering the long-time favourite Jack.
In a reflection of the increasing influence of Islam on UK society, figures released by the Office of National Statistics yesterday showed that the most popular spelling of the name - Mohammed - had climbed five places to 17th in the annual list of most popular baby names.
But when the seven other spellings of the name are taken into account, the total amounted to 6,347 babies, making it the second-most popular name of the year - up from 5,936 last year.
Although Jack topped the list with 6,772 babies, that figure fell 156 on last year, meaning that if the trends were repeated next year, Mohammed and its variant spellings would be the most popular choice in England and Wales.
The last national census in 2001 put the UK Muslim population at 1.6million, but this will have grown substantially in the past five years.
The figures also reveal that while Jack held on to the top spot for the boys, Grace was the most popular name given to girls, beating last year's top girls' name, Olivia, into third place.
They were separated by Ruby at number two, which is believed to have been given a boost by singer Charlotte Church, who picked the name for her daughter who was born in September.
The rest of the top five was made up by Emily, which rose one place to number four and Jessica, last year's runner-up.
The boy's top five looks almost the same as last year, with Thomas still the second most popular name. Oliver climbed one place to number three - swapping positions with Joshua - while Harry remained the fifth favourite choice. The power of celebrity was also reflected in the top 50, with Jayden the highest new entry for the boys at 32, up from 68 last year, while Ava moved up 23 places in the girls' rankings to 41.
Jayden's rise could be attributed to Jaden(corr) Smith, son of movie star Will Smith. The child made his film debut opposite his father in last year's The Pursuit of Happyness.
Ava's surge in popularity is believed to be influenced by singer and model Myleen Klass, who named her daughter Ava in August. An ONS spokesman also said Leona almost trebled in popularity, with 238 babies given the name in 2007, following Leona Lewis winning last year's X Factor show.
As well as Ava, Summer also entered the girls' top 50 this year, rising 15 places to 44, replacing Anna and Paige, who dropped out of the list.
The boys' list saw Isaac and Finley both rise 13 places to 42 and 47 to join Jayden as new entries, as Bradley, Rhys and Kyle failed to make the cut.
The ONS spokesman said: "We measure each particular spelling of a name rather than a combined total for a number of different variations.
"Although we don't keep records to say for sure, I would imagine that this is the first time Mohammed and all it's different spellings have been as high as second on the list."
The official statistics tally with a similar survey on baby names published by Bounty, the parenting club, earlier this week.
That study also crowned Jack and Grace the top names, with Ruby the highest female climber to number two and Charlie coming runner up for the boys.
The top 20 boys names
Jack (-)
Mohammed (+10)(or a variation)
Thomas (-)
Oliver (+1)
Joshua (-1)
Charlie (+4)
Daniel (+2)
William (-1)
James (-3)
Alfie (+6)
Samuel (-3)
George (+2)
Joseph (-1)
Benjamin (-3)
Ethan (+4)
Lewis (+4)
Mohammed (+5)
Jake (-3)
Dylan (+4)
Jacob (+1)
The top 20 girls' names
1 Grace (+1)
2 Ruby (+2)
3 Olivia (-2)
4 Emily (+1)
5 Jessica (-2)
6 Sophie (-)
7 Chloe (-)
8 Lily (+1)
9 Ella (+2)
10 Amelia (+6)
11 Lucy (-3)
12 Charlotte (-)
13 Ellie (-3)
14 Mia (-)
15 Evie (+6)
16 Hannah (-1)
17 Megan (-)
18 Katie (-5)
19 Isabella (-)
20 Isabelle (+9)
For the last 13 years it has reigned supreme as the most popular boy's name in the land.
But in multicultural Britain, children named after the Muslim prophet Mohammed could soon be outnumbering the long-time favourite Jack.
In a reflection of the increasing influence of Islam on UK society, figures released by the Office of National Statistics yesterday showed that the most popular spelling of the name - Mohammed - had climbed five places to 17th in the annual list of most popular baby names.
But when the seven other spellings of the name are taken into account, the total amounted to 6,347 babies, making it the second-most popular name of the year - up from 5,936 last year.
Although Jack topped the list with 6,772 babies, that figure fell 156 on last year, meaning that if the trends were repeated next year, Mohammed and its variant spellings would be the most popular choice in England and Wales.
The last national census in 2001 put the UK Muslim population at 1.6million, but this will have grown substantially in the past five years.
The figures also reveal that while Jack held on to the top spot for the boys, Grace was the most popular name given to girls, beating last year's top girls' name, Olivia, into third place.
They were separated by Ruby at number two, which is believed to have been given a boost by singer Charlotte Church, who picked the name for her daughter who was born in September.
The rest of the top five was made up by Emily, which rose one place to number four and Jessica, last year's runner-up.
The boy's top five looks almost the same as last year, with Thomas still the second most popular name. Oliver climbed one place to number three - swapping positions with Joshua - while Harry remained the fifth favourite choice. The power of celebrity was also reflected in the top 50, with Jayden the highest new entry for the boys at 32, up from 68 last year, while Ava moved up 23 places in the girls' rankings to 41.
Jayden's rise could be attributed to Jaden(corr) Smith, son of movie star Will Smith. The child made his film debut opposite his father in last year's The Pursuit of Happyness.
Ava's surge in popularity is believed to be influenced by singer and model Myleen Klass, who named her daughter Ava in August. An ONS spokesman also said Leona almost trebled in popularity, with 238 babies given the name in 2007, following Leona Lewis winning last year's X Factor show.
As well as Ava, Summer also entered the girls' top 50 this year, rising 15 places to 44, replacing Anna and Paige, who dropped out of the list.
The boys' list saw Isaac and Finley both rise 13 places to 42 and 47 to join Jayden as new entries, as Bradley, Rhys and Kyle failed to make the cut.
The ONS spokesman said: "We measure each particular spelling of a name rather than a combined total for a number of different variations.
"Although we don't keep records to say for sure, I would imagine that this is the first time Mohammed and all it's different spellings have been as high as second on the list."
The official statistics tally with a similar survey on baby names published by Bounty, the parenting club, earlier this week.
That study also crowned Jack and Grace the top names, with Ruby the highest female climber to number two and Charlie coming runner up for the boys.
The top 20 boys names
Jack (-)
Mohammed (+10)(or a variation)
Thomas (-)
Oliver (+1)
Joshua (-1)
Charlie (+4)
Daniel (+2)
William (-1)
James (-3)
Alfie (+6)
Samuel (-3)
George (+2)
Joseph (-1)
Benjamin (-3)
Ethan (+4)
Lewis (+4)
Mohammed (+5)
Jake (-3)
Dylan (+4)
Jacob (+1)
The top 20 girls' names
1 Grace (+1)
2 Ruby (+2)
3 Olivia (-2)
4 Emily (+1)
5 Jessica (-2)
6 Sophie (-)
7 Chloe (-)
8 Lily (+1)
9 Ella (+2)
10 Amelia (+6)
11 Lucy (-3)
12 Charlotte (-)
13 Ellie (-3)
14 Mia (-)
15 Evie (+6)
16 Hannah (-1)
17 Megan (-)
18 Katie (-5)
19 Isabella (-)
20 Isabelle (+9)
