Muhammad Tops List of Most Popular Baby Boy Names in England and Wales for Third Straight Year

Newly released data from the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that Muhammad was the most popular name given to baby boys in England and Wales in 2025, marking the third consecutive year the name has topped the rankings, while other spelling variants of the name also featured prominently among the most chosen names.

The Numbers
Of 300,715 live male births recorded in England and Wales in 2025, 5,957 boys were named Muhammad nearly 2,000 more than the second most popular name, Noah, which was given to 4,075 boys. Leo ranked third with 3,278 births, followed by Luca at 3,266. Traditional English names such as Arthur, Oliver, and George did not appear until fifth, sixth, and seventh place respectively.

Because the ONS counts each spelling of a name separately rather than combining variants, other renderings of the Prophet's name also ranked highly: Mohammed placed 20th with 1,712 births, and Mohammad placed 55th with 895 births. Combined, the three spellings accounted for roughly 8,500 babies, or about 2.8% of all boys born in England and Wales last year. Muhammad was also the single most popular boys' name in four of England's nine regions, including London.

Why the Name Dominates
Demographers link the trend to the growth of Britain's Muslim population, now estimated at nearly four million people, or roughly 6% of the UK population up sharply from 2.7 million recorded in the 2011 census. Professor David Coleman of the University of Oxford, a specialist in migration demographics, noted that Muslim communities have had a presence in Britain's port cities since the 19th century, with early Muslim seamen from Yemen and Egypt forming small coastal enclaves long before the larger waves of post-war immigration.

Unlike more evenly distributed English names, Muhammad's popularity reflects a concentration within Muslim communities on a single name choice, since many families name sons after the Prophet Muhammad as a mark of religious and cultural identity, even where the child later goes by a middle name or nickname in daily life. The name has held a place in the UK's top 100 boys' names since 1997 and has remained in the top 10 since 2016.

For Girls
Among girls, Olivia retained its position as the most popular name for the third year running, followed by Lily, Amelia, Isla, and Florence.

Mustapha Bature Sallama.
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References
The National, "Muhammad most popular boys' name in England for third straight year," July 2026. https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uk/2026/07/09/muhammad-most-popular-boys-name-in-england-for-third-straight-year/

GB News, "Baby names: Muhammad tops list of most popular names in England and Wales." https://www.gbnews.com/news/baby-names-muhammad-tops-list-most-popular-names

The Christian Post, "Muhammad ranks as top baby boy name in England, Wales for third straight year." https://www.christianpost.com/news/muhammad-ranks-top-baby-boy-name-in-england-wales-for-third-year.html

The European Conservative, "England, 2025: Muhammad Top Name for Baby Boys." https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news-corner/england-2025-muhammad-top-name-for-baby-boys/