Muhammad has become the most popular baby name for boys in the UK for the first time, new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed.
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 UK.
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.
First time single spelling tops list
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 per cent, and Hasan, up 43 per cent.
Among girls, Arabic names also saw significant growth, with Aizal and its variant Ayzal rising 479 per cent and 183 per cent, respectively. Inaya, meaning “care” or “protection” in Arabic, increased by 48 per cent.
But the boys’ name that underwent the biggest increase in popularity was Cassian.
The number of babies with this name, which is shared with a character in the romantic fiction series A Court of Thorns and Roses by the American author Sarah J Maas, went up by 79 per cent in the past year.
The series became a viral sensation after gaining popularity on TikTok.
The ONS found some geographical variations. Olivia was the most popular girls’ name in five out of nine regions in England and the most popular in Wales, while Muhammad was the most popular boys’ name in four out of nine regions in England and was ranked 63rd in Wales.
Arabic in origin, the name Muhammad means “praiseworthy” or “commendable” from the Arabic verb “ḥammada”, meaning “to praise”.
The name – which is shared with the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam and the proclaimer of the Koran – is very common in regions with a strong Muslim presence, such as the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.
But Muhammad and its variants are growing in popularity across multicultural societies.
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.
Kardashian baby names gain popularity
Pop culture continues to shape baby name trends, with influences from music artists such as Billie Eilish and Lana Del Rey, film stars such as Margot Robbie and Cillian Murphy and celebrity baby names from the Kardashian-Jenner family.Examples include Saint, after Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s eight-year-old son, and Reign, the name given to Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick’s nine-year-old boy, both popularised through the family TV franchise The Kardashians.
Some names were more popular depending on the time of year; in December, Holly, Robyn and Joseph were more popular, whereas names such as Summer and Autumn were popular in their respective seasons.
The top names for boys had much higher counts than those for girls. Since there are more unique names for baby girls – 35,000 unique names and spellings compared with 29,560 for boys – it suggests parents are choosing from a smaller pool of names for boys than girls, increasing the prevalence of each boy name.
The name Harry saw one of the most notable decreases in popularity in 2023, down to 21st position.
Between 2004 and 2020, the Duke of Sussex’s first name was consistently in the top 10. In 2021, it dropped to 11th place, and in 2022 it dropped further still, to 15th position.
A boy’s name with pop culture links that saw a 22 per cent popularity surge this year was Nolan. The increase could be linked to the success of the cinematic hit Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan.
Otto also went up by 33 per cent, an increase that could be attributed to Tom Hanks’s starring role in A Man Called Otto, a comedy drama based on a Swedish novel by the same name. Hanks played Otto Anderson, a grumpy but ultimately well-loved widower.
Among girls’ names, Margot Robbie’s iconic performance in the blockbuster Barbie movie could be behind the 27 per cent increase in the baby name Margot, while Miley Cyrus’s 2023 comeback hit Flowers coincided with a similar resurgence in her first name.
But while arts and culture appear to have exerted significant influence over new parents, it would appear that politics has not had the same effect.
In 2023, just seven baby boys were named Donald, five were named Nigel and four Keir. Twenty-eight babies were named Boris.
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