Muhammad overtakes Noah as most popular British boy's name

Cachella Smith
BBC News



Muhammad was the top choice for parents naming their baby boys in England and Wales in 2023, with more than 4,600 children registered with the name.

It has been among the top 10 names for baby boys since 2016, but has now overtaken the previous favourite, Noah, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

There is, however, a level of regional variation with Muhammad not appearing in the top 10 for three regions of England.

Other spellings of the name Mohammed and Mohammad also made the top 100 list for England and Wales. The ONS considers each spelling as a separate name, with different variations of Muhammad proving popular in previous years.

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Olivia remains the most popular choice for baby girls, followed by Amelia and Isla. These top three have remained unchanged since 2022.

Hyphenated names jumped in popularity for girls last year, standing at more than 19,140 names, up from around 12,330 the year before.

New entries to the top 100 list for girls include Lilah, Raya and Hazel, while Jax, Enzo and Bodhi made it into the top 100 for boys.

The ONS said on Thursday that pop culture "continues to influence" name choices, citing singers Billie Eilish and Lana Del Rey, the Kardashian-Jenner family's children Reign and Saint, and film stars Margot Robbie and Cillian Murphy.

Other music artist names Miley, Rihanna, Kendrick and Elton also saw an increase in 2023. That was likely due to album releases, touring, or high-profile performances by Miley Cyrus, Kendrick Lamar, Elton John, and Rihanna, the ONS said.

Days of the week have been a further source of inspiration for parents, with names such as Sunday and Wednesday rising in popularity last year. The ONS drew a possible link with the Netflix series Wednesday, which was released in late 2022.

As for the seasons, Autumn ranks 96th in the list and Summer 86th, up 10 places from 2022, but 38 places lower than in 2013.

Meanwhile, royal names were less popular in 2023 - a decline that forms part of an ongoing trend.

George, Archie, Harry and Charlotte have all become less popular in recent years, as have Elizabeth and Charles.

Data for 2022's top baby names was released last May amid changes to resources.

Publishing dates for 2024's most popular picks have not yet been confirmed.