Muhammad is officially the most popular name for baby boys in England and Wales in 2023, data show.
Office for National Statistics figures released this morning reveal that 4,661 boys were named Muhammad in the UK last year – the most of any other and 484 more than in 2022.
Last year’s winner Noah (then-4,586) slid to 4,382 in 2023, enough to clinch second place while Oliver (3,556) claimed last year’s third-place name George (3,494).
The biggest gainer in the top 15 boys names was Luca, which jumped from 12th position last year with 2,625 namings to 7th this year with 3,195.
Henry, too, jumped from 13th (2,624) last year to tenth (2,490).
Of the top 100 boys names, Bodhi saw the highest one year leap in rankings, going from 637th to 100th and Chester saw the second highest year-on-year growth, from 581st in 2022 to 89th.
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On the girls side, Olivia, which came in top last year, has retained the top spot despite losing ground in the total number of names given from 3,289 in 2022 to 2906.
Second and third also remain unchanged from 2022, seeing Amelia, followed by Isla.
Ava fell from 4th place in 2022 (2,293) to 6th this time around with 2,050 namings, while Willow jumped into the top 10, placing ninth with 1,833 namings.
The girls names top 100 saw higher year-on-year volatility in rankings change than the boys.
The only four-digit rankings leap across either gender came from Nova, which took 81st, having sat in 1,128th spot last year.
The 2023 figures confirm Muhammad’s status at the top of the rankings.
But that trend has been running for a lot longer if other spellings of the name are accounted for.
While there is no definitive answer pointing to the popularity of the name, increasing sizes of Muslim communities across the UK and popularity of sporting figures such as Mohamed (Mo) Farah, Mohamed Salah and Muhammad Ali are likely to play their part.
Elsewhere in the world of celebrity, Hollywood still holds a major sway over Brits’ naming habits.
In 2023, it was the turn of heartthrobs Cillian Murphy and Margot Robbie to assert them selves into the public’s conscience.
With the releases of their box office smash hits Oppenheimer and Barbie last summer, Robbie in particular saw a major boost to namesakes in England and Wales, nearly doubling between February and July 2023.
Cillian also saw a bump from just 12 namings in April to 31 in October, only 3 months after the release of Christopher Nolan’s atomic bomb epic.
Spotify streams and hot new albums also have a proven track record of influencing the names of our children.
Last year was the year of Rita and Dua in certain parts of the UK.
This time around, nine-time Grammy award winner Billie Eilish saw her biggest gain in years, following on from writing the title song for Margot Robbie’s Barbie flick, a major US tour and collaboration with Apple Films and a starring role in her first TV project.
Of the top 100 boys names, Bodhi saw the highest one year leap. Stock
Despite general enthusiasm and support for the Royal Family holding steady since the Queen’s death in September 2022, there seem to be less namesakes of the world’s most famous family in England and Wales.
George and Archie, sons of Prince William and his brother the Duke of Sussex, have both seen sharp drop-offs in terms of their popularities, with George falling below 4,000 in 2023 for the first time in nearly ten years.
Camilla (63), after the Queen Consort, has remained largely flat over the same time period as have Lilibet (33)
Harry saw the biggest drop-off in terms of royal family namings
Reign’s one-year downturn reversed in 2023
Data released today show hyphenated names remained flat for boys in 2023
Seasonal naming patterns are still prevalent in society