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Muhammad is the most common name in the world. The name Muhammad is Arabic and means “praise”, or “the praised one.” It is estimated that over 15 million people in the world carry the name Muhammad after the Islamic prophet Muhammad, lived in the years 570-632 AD.

Many famous people bear the name Muhammad, the most known maybe is the legendary boxer and heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. Birth name was Cassius Clay and he changed his name about the time he got known for his boxing talents.

This name is very popular in the United States and also in the Middle East, but also many have the name Muhammad in Europe as well.

Abd al-rahman Muhammad Ahmed Abd al-Karim is a British actor.

Muhammed Suimez is a German musician. Mohamed al-Fayed is a Swiss based millionaire.

Mohamed ElBaradei is the Director General of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency.

Mohammad Ashraful is a Bangladeshi cricketer.

Many people bear the name Muhammad and it is still a popular name for all children from anywhere in the world.

The Mehmed family was sultans of the Ottoman Empire in the 9th century through the 19th century.

The Columbia Encyclopedia as of year 2000, sixth edition, states that Muhammad is “probably the most common given name” worldwide when taking into considerations all variations and that there an estimated fifteen million people worldwide who have the name Muhammad.

Going by the United States Social Security Administration Muhammad ranks as the 639th most popular name for babies born in the United States in 2006, Mohammed ranked 633rd and Mohammad at 589th.

Muhammad is also very common as a surname and in the Arab world it can be used as a generic name in situations where someone does not know the actual name of the man they wish to address. Outside of the Arab continent Muhammad can be used as a prefix or as a suffix to another name. Application of this name is considered an honourable and respectful form of address.

The name itself is given in tribute to the prophet Muhammad (born 570 CE) who was the founder of Islam and, according to the Muslim faith, the last messenger and prophet of God (Allah). Muhammad is said to have received his first revelation from God at the age of 40 and by his death (632 CE) most of Arabia had converted to Islam. The name literally means one who is praiseworthy’ and it is popular with Muslim families wishing to honor their religion and it’s prophet, the name is also considered to be an honor to bear and is a mark of the parent’s faith in the child’s future as a someone worthy of the prophet’s name.

In England Muhammad with all spelling variations taken into account, is the second most popular boy’s name. Jack takes first place and in third place is Thomas. The spelling Mohammed’ ranked in at number 23 on the official names register when counted independently of the other spelling variations.

One of the most well known men named Muhammad in the modern day is Muhammed Ali, born Cassius Clay, the famous American boxer who changed his name after joining the Nation of Islam in 1964.

There are fourteen legitimate spellings of the name which are derived from replacing the original Arabic with the closest Latin equivalent; variations come into play when things like pronunciation and region are taken into play.

‘Muhammad’ is a common anglicized spelling of the Arabic however the most common transliteration is ‘Mohammed’, below are listed the fourteen variant spellings;

Mohammed

Muhammad

Mohammad

Muhammed

Mohamed

Mohamad

Mahammed

Mohammod

Mahamed

Muhammod

Muhamad

Mohmmed

Mohamud

Mohammud

Muhammad is now second only to Jack as the most popular name for baby boys in Britain in 2006, and is likely to rise to No 1 by 2007. The name, if all 14 different spellings are included, was shared by 5,991 newborn boys last year, beating Thomas into third place, followed by Joshua and Oliver.

Scholars said that the name’s rise up the league table was driven partly by the growing number of young Muslims having families, coupled with the desire to name their child in honor of the Prophet.

Muhammad Anwar, Professor of Ethnic Relations at Warwick University, said: “Muslim parents like to have something that shows a link with their religion or with the Prophet.

Although the official names register places the spelling Mohammed at No 23, an analysis of the top 3,000 names provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) puts Muhammad at No 2 once the 14 spellings are taken into account. If its popularity continues – it rose by 12 per cent last year – the name will take the top spot by the end of this year. It first entered the Top 30 in 2000.

The spelling Muhammad, like all transliterations, comes from replacing the Arabic script with what is deemed its closest Latin equivalent. There are many versions in Britain, depending on where the family is from and variations in pronunciation.

Muhammad, which means “one who is praiseworthy”, is often given to boys as an honorary prefix and is followed by the name by which they are commonly known. It is regularly cited as the most common name in the world, though there is no concrete evidence.

Some people may not really understand the history of the Prophet Muhammad and the name but they still want the association so they can be recognized as one of his followers.

In Arab countries, the name Muhammad is said when you don’t know the name of someone. On the sub-continent, it is different: Muhammad can be used either before or after another name.

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.

Overall, Muslims account for 3 per cent of the British population, about 1.5 million people. However, the Muslim birthrate is roughly three times higher than the non-Muslim one.

The different spellings of Muhammad in 2006 and the number of occurrences

Mohammed 2,833

Muhammad 1,422

Mohammad 920

Muhammed 358

Mohamed 354

Mohamad 29

Mahammed 18

Mohammod 13

Mahamed 12

Muhammod 9

Muhamad 7

Mohmmed 6

Mohamud 5

Mohammud 5

Muslims differ on why there are so many variants of the name, some say it is the result of phonetic translations by Muslims who moved here from abroad. Others say that it is merely down to the personal choice of the parents

The most popular names for baby boys in 2006 in the UK are;

1 Jack 6,928, 2 Muhammad (all spellings) 5,991, 3 Thomas 5,921, 4 Joshua 5,808, 5 Oliver 5,208, 6 Harry 5,006, 7 James 4,783, 8 William 4,327, 9 Samuel 4,320, 10 Daniel 4,303, 11 Charlie 4,178, 12 Benjamin 3,778, 13 Joseph 3,755, 14 Callum 3,517, 15 George 3,386, 16 Jake 3,353, 17 Alfie 3,194, 18 Luke 3,108,19 Matthew 3,043, 20 Ethan 3,020

Many famous people bear the name Muhammad, the most known maybe is the legendary boxer and heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. Birth name was Cassius Clay and he changed his name about the time he got known for his boxing talents.

This name is very popular in the United States and also in the Middle East, but also many have the name Muhammad in Europe as well.

Abd al-rahman Muhammad Ahmed Abd al-Karim is a British actor.

Muhammed Suimez is a German musician. Mohamed al-Fayed is a Swiss based millionaire.

Mohamed ElBaradei is the Director General of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency.

Mohammad Ashraful is a Bangladeshi cricketer.

Many people bear the name Muhammad and it is still a popular name for all children from anywhere in the world.

The Mehmed family was sultans of the Ottoman Empire in the 9th century through the 19th century.

The Columbia Encyclopedia as of year 2000, sixth edition, states that Muhammad is “probably the most common given name” worldwide when taking into considerations all variations and that there an estimated fifteen million people worldwide who have the name Muhammad.

Going by the United States Social Security Administration Muhammad ranks as the 639th most popular name for babies born in the United States in 2006, Mohammed ranked 633rd and Mohammad at 589th.

Muhammad is also very common as a surname and in the Arab world it can be used as a generic name in situations where someone does not know the actual name of the man they wish to address. Outside of the Arab continent Muhammad can be used as a prefix or as a suffix to another name. Application of this name is considered an honourable and respectful form of address.

The name itself is given in tribute to the prophet Muhammad (born 570 CE) who was the founder of Islam and, according to the Muslim faith, the last messenger and prophet of God (Allah). Muhammad is said to have received his first revelation from God at the age of 40 and by his death (632 CE) most of Arabia had converted to Islam. The name literally means one who is praiseworthy’ and it is popular with Muslim families wishing to honor their religion and it’s prophet, the name is also considered to be an honor to bear and is a mark of the parent’s faith in the child’s future as a someone worthy of the prophet’s name.

In England Muhammad with all spelling variations taken into account, is the second most popular boy’s name. Jack takes first place and in third place is Thomas. The spelling Mohammed’ ranked in at number 23 on the official names register when counted independently of the other spelling variations.

One of the most well known men named Muhammad in the modern day is Muhammed Ali, born Cassius Clay, the famous American boxer who changed his name after joining the Nation of Islam in 1964.

There are fourteen legitimate spellings of the name which are derived from replacing the original Arabic with the closest Latin equivalent; variations come into play when things like pronunciation and region are taken into play.

‘Muhammad’ is a common anglicized spelling of the Arabic however the most common transliteration is ‘Mohammed’, below are listed the fourteen variant spellings;

Mohammed

Muhammad

Mohammad

Muhammed

Mohamed

Mohamad

Mahammed

Mohammod

Mahamed

Muhammod

Muhamad

Mohmmed

Mohamud

Mohammud

Muhammad is now second only to Jack as the most popular name for baby boys in Britain in 2006, and is likely to rise to No 1 by 2007. The name, if all 14 different spellings are included, was shared by 5,991 newborn boys last year, beating Thomas into third place, followed by Joshua and Oliver.

Scholars said that the name’s rise up the league table was driven partly by the growing number of young Muslims having families, coupled with the desire to name their child in honor of the Prophet.

Muhammad Anwar, Professor of Ethnic Relations at Warwick University, said: “Muslim parents like to have something that shows a link with their religion or with the Prophet.

Although the official names register places the spelling Mohammed at No 23, an analysis of the top 3,000 names provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) puts Muhammad at No 2 once the 14 spellings are taken into account. If its popularity continues – it rose by 12 per cent last year – the name will take the top spot by the end of this year. It first entered the Top 30 in 2000.

The spelling Muhammad, like all transliterations, comes from replacing the Arabic script with what is deemed its closest Latin equivalent. There are many versions in Britain, depending on where the family is from and variations in pronunciation.

Muhammad, which means “one who is praiseworthy”, is often given to boys as an honorary prefix and is followed by the name by which they are commonly known. It is regularly cited as the most common name in the world, though there is no concrete evidence.

Some people may not really understand the history of the Prophet Muhammad and the name but they still want the association so they can be recognized as one of his followers.

In Arab countries, the name Muhammad is said when you don’t know the name of someone. On the sub-continent, it is different: Muhammad can be used either before or after another name.

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.

Overall, Muslims account for 3 per cent of the British population, about 1.5 million people. However, the Muslim birthrate is roughly three times higher than the non-Muslim one.

The different spellings of Muhammad in 2006 and the number of occurrences

Mohammed 2,833

Muhammad 1,422

Mohammad 920

Muhammed 358

Mohamed 354

Mohamad 29

Mahammed 18

Mohammod 13

Mahamed 12

Muhammod 9

Muhamad 7

Mohmmed 6

Mohamud 5

Mohammud 5

Muslims differ on why there are so many variants of the name, some say it is the result of phonetic translations by Muslims who moved here from abroad. Others say that it is merely down to the personal choice of the parents

The most popular names for baby boys in 2006 in the UK are;

1 Jack 6,928, 2 Muhammad (all spellings) 5,991, 3 Thomas 5,921, 4 Joshua 5,808, 5 Oliver 5,208, 6 Harry 5,006, 7 James 4,783, 8 William 4,327, 9 Samuel 4,320, 10 Daniel 4,303, 11 Charlie 4,178, 12 Benjamin 3,778, 13 Joseph 3,755, 14 Callum 3,517, 15 George 3,386, 16 Jake 3,353, 17 Alfie 3,194, 18 Luke 3,108,19 Matthew 3,043, 20 Ethan 3,020

Stig-Arne Kristoffersen
www.lulu.com/stig