Mohammed among top 50 names in UK today

In what is being described as a new sign of the deepening influence of Islam on life in Britain, more and more Muslim parents in the UK are christening their baby boys as Mohammed.
The official count of the babies' names chosen most often last year showed that two different versions - Mohammed and Muhammed - were in the top 50 picked by parents.
Mohammed, the most common variant of the Muslim Prophet's name, was the 22nd most popular name for boys. And, the alternative spelling Muhammad entered the list of the top 50 names for the first time, becoming the 44th in the chart.
The rise of Mohammed as a name in the UK is an indicator of growing numbers of Muslims in British society in recent years, reported the Daily Mail, and added that there were 3732 boys named Mohammed or with one of seven other variants of the name in 2000. Last year there were 4532, and this year 5936, a rise of nearly two thirds on the Millennium year.
Numbers have been growing as a result of continued immigration from Pakistan and Bangladesh as well as waves of new arrivals from Islamic countries or countries with high Muslim populations in the Middle East and Africa, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and Nigeria.
Recent immigrants have swelled the Muslim population of around 1.6 million counted by the last national census in 2001. An analysis published by analysts at the Government's Office for National Statistics (ONS) earlier this year showed that new migrant families tend to have children a few years after arriving in Britain, after taking time to find work and settle down.
The increasing popularity of the name may also reflect deepening loyalty to their faith among Muslims. The ONS breakdown of this year's popular names showed yesterday that Muhammed is the fastest climber in the top 50 chart.
The most common boys' name was the same that has topped the list for the past 12 years: Jack. There was, however, a new favourite for girls, Olivia, up from fourth in the rankings last year. Grace was also an increasingly popular name, up from seven to two in the table, and Ruby shot up to number four from number 15. (ANI)
Just a correction---the article was set-up to make us think Muhammed is the most popular name in England, when actually it only surpassed "George" in popularity. Muhammed is the 22nd most popular name for boys in England.
[Link: www.telegraph.co.uk...]