What’s the most popular ‘baby boy’ name in England—Muhammad, Noah, or Oliver? Key details from the UK statistics report

For those looking for popular names for their newborn baby boys, it is surprising that ‘Muhammad’ has appeared as the most popular name in England and Wales, according to the United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The report published on Thursday revealed this after analysing the supporting data. In 2023 and onward, the name most prominently associated with Islam’s founder and most prominent figure, the Prophet Muhammad, emerged as the leader. The report said, “Muhammad has overtaken Noah as the top name for baby boys in England and Wales, followed by Noah and Oliver.”

ONS previously mentioned that the name’s dominance was due to a number of factors, particularly due to the “increasing size of the Muslim community, which rose from 1.5 million in 2001, to 2.7 million people in 2011 and to 3.9 million in 2021,” a Middle East news outlet quoted ONS spokesperson as saying. As many as 4,661 baby boys were named Muhammad in 2023, trailing close behind was the popular name Noah, as per the data. A total of 4,382 boys were given the name Noah that year.

Notably, Oliver occupied third position as 3,556 babies were given the name, which was followed by George, Leo, and Arthur. The report further mentioned that Muhammad was the second most popular name in 2022 and has been in the top 10 most popular names for baby boys in England and Wales since 2016.

The findings reveal that Oliver occupied the top spot in 2022, as 4,586 male babies were given this name. In the same year, a total of 4,177 baby boys were named Muhammad, bagging the second position in the most popular names list of 2022. Besides these, George secured the third spot, while Oliver stood fourth.

Furthermore, providing a map of the most popular name among baby boys around the Manchester and Liverpool areas, the ONS report said that ‘Muhammad’ led the pack there as well.