Mohammed is now the most popular name for newborn boys in England and Wales ahead of Jack and Harry, it emerged today.

The name, when 12 different spellings were included, was given to 7,549 youngsters in 2009, official statistics revealed.

Oliver was the second most popular and it was given to 7,364 boys in England and Wales in 12 months.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1324194/Mohammed-popular-baby-boys-ahead-Jack-Harry.html#ixzz13abZ15V9

I'm really surprised to see the increase in biblical names in what I had thought was a largely secular society. I see Jesus is #78 with a bullet.

http://www.thenewparentsguide.com/most-popular-baby-names-2009.htm

I have to tell you that quoting the Daily Mail as an authoritative source of news in the UK is about as credible as quoting the National Enquirer in the USA. It (the Daily Mail) uses all the usual sly journalistic tricks such as wrapping editorial opinions in quote marks to make them look like facts, quoting from 'friends of the xxx' or 'sources who wish to remain anonymous'. The Daily Mail was a firm supporter of both Oswald Moseley (the leader of the "Blackshirts" - a fascist movement in the UK) and Adolf Hitler - that well-known humanitarian. The UK is blessed with a number of high quality newspapers on all sides of the political divide that publish with integrity - the Daily Mail isn't one of them.

I don't suppose it's any different from all those Mexicans who call their kids Jesus.

didnt make the top 13 in 2009 & 9th in 2010 according to this site

didnt make the top 13 in 2009 & 9th in 2010 according to this site

Your link only shows one spelling of the name, Mohammed.

The OP clearly states:

"The name, when 12 different spellings were included, was given to 7,549 youngsters in 2009, official statistics revealed."

Can you clarify your link?

I have to tell you that quoting the Daily Mail as an authoritative source of news in the UK is about as credible as quoting the National Enquirer in the USA. It (the Daily Mail) uses all the usual sly journalistic tricks such as wrapping editorial opinions in quote marks to make them look like facts, quoting from 'friends of the xxx' or 'sources who wish to remain anonymous'. The Daily Mail was a firm supporter of both Oswald Moseley (the leader of the "Blackshirts" - a fascist movement in the UK) and Adolf Hitler - that well-known humanitarian. The UK is blessed with a number of high quality newspapers on all sides of the political divide that publish with integrity - the Daily Mail isn't one of them.

Normally I'd say something about how what does all that have to do with baby name statistics? Sounds like you just want to complain about the Daily News.

HOWEVER, the article never refers to the source, beyond calling it "the list". That's pretty shoddy journalism. They should provide a link or at least give the name of the entity or organisation that compiled the list. Something like, "...the list, compiled each year by the National Birth Registry Blah Blah (www.nbrbb.gov.uk)...".

Endure is spot on.

The Mail exists by making money from whipping up far-right nationalistic sentiment from those who are not broad minded enough to think for themselves. They just hit on the latest hot subjects that the general public love to get themselves all worked up about and you can be sure each time that they are not telling the full story.

I used to detest them for the irresponsible and downright racist manner in which they manipulate the public but now I just see it for the smart business approach that it is. What gets under my skin now is those whom can't think for themselves and take all that they say as gospel.

I don't think Mohammed is very popular over here

I don't think Mohammed is very popular over here

I know better than that.

I don't think Mohammed is very popular over here

I know better than that.

I think it's a toss up between Ahmed, Abdul and Mohammed

didnt make the top 13 in 2009 & 9th in 2010 according to this site

Your link only shows one spelling of the name, Mohammed.

The OP clearly states:

"The name, when 12 different spellings were included, was given to 7,549 youngsters in 2009, official statistics revealed."

Can you clarify your link?

zzzzzzzzzz who the <deleted> cares?

Jack was named the most popular name for a number of years

and perhaps that didnt include the spelling of Jac, Jax, Jak, Jacque, Jacc.......

Here's a rather less inflammatory article from today's Times:

"It was the name of England’s first Lord Protector and a fictional orphan. Other than Cromwell and Twist, though, famous Olivers are few and far between.

Not for much longer. According to the latest figures, Oliver is the most popular boy’s name in Britain, bringing an end to the reign of Jack, which had top spot for 14 years but is now No 2.

Oliver’s popularity is so great that it has even spread to girls. Olivia is the most popular girl’s name for the second year running. Ruby remains the second most popular.

Oliver has a long history in Britain even though it has never been widely popular until now. Originally French, it was introduced by the Normans as a surname, before also evolving into a first name during the Tudor period. According to the Office for National Statistics there were no new entries in the top ten for boys or girls last year. Even in the top 100 boys’ names there were only six new entries: Aiden, Arthur, Frederick, Jude, Stanley and Austin. In the top 100, Lucas was the highest climber, up 19 places to 17.

Mohammed is 16th for boys, but in all its different spellings it is seventh.

Girls’ names had three new entries in the top 100: Heidi, Sara and Maya. Within the top 100, Maisie was the biggest climber, up 29 places to 34.

The new figures are published with those dating from before the First World War. The popularity of boys’ names has shown remarkable stability: John, William, and George were the top three in 1914 and would not be an embarrassment today. The girls’ names change radically. Mary, Margaret and Doris were the top three in 1914. In 1944 it was Margaret, Patricia and Christine. Even the top three of 1984 — Sarah, Laura and Gemma — are out of fashion today.

Top 10 boys’ names of 2009

1 Oliver

2 Jack

3 Harry

4 Alfie

5 Joshua

6 Thomas

7 Charlie

8 William

9 James

10 Daniel

Top ten girls’ names

1 Olivia

2 Ruby

3 Chloe

4 Emily

5 Sophie

6 Jessica

7 Grace

8 Lily

9 Amelia

10 Evie"

And here's an Excel spreadsheet and a PDF news release from the Office of National Statistics which compiled the data:

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/2009-boys.xls

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/names1010.pdf

didnt make the top 13 in 2009 & 9th in 2010 according to this site

Your link only shows one spelling of the name, Mohammed.

The OP clearly states:

"The name, when 12 different spellings were included, was given to 7,549 youngsters in 2009, official statistics revealed."

Can you clarify your link?

zzzzzzzzzz who the <deleted> cares?

Jack was named the most popular name for a number of years

and perhaps that didnt include the spelling of Jac, Jax, Jak, Jacque, Jacc.......

You cared enough to make the first post but not enough to support it when it was questioned.

You may now return to your normal state of somnolence. zzzzzzzzz

You cared enough to make the first post but not enough to support it when it was questioned.

You may now return to your normal state of somnolence. zzzzzzzzz

if it really burns a hole in your gut to find out which name is the most popular why dont you read endures post above yr reply, I was merely pointing out the name wasnt mentioned as number in the site I posted, no need to get lose your toys

Mohammed is 16th for boys, but in all its different spellings it is seventh

and im well rested thanks for asking

You cared enough to make the first post but not enough to support it when it was questioned.

You may now return to your normal state of somnolence. zzzzzzzzz

if it really burns a hole in your gut to find out which name is the most popular why dont you read endures post above yr reply, I was merely pointing out the name wasnt mentioned as number in the site I posted, no need to get lose your toys

Mohammed is 16th for boys, but in all its different spellings it is seventh

It doesn't burn a hole in my gut. You made the mistake. not me.

Here's a rather less inflammatory article from today's Times:

"It was the name of England's first Lord Protector and a fictional orphan. Other than Cromwell and Twist, though, famous Olivers are few and far between.

Not for much longer. According to the latest figures, Oliver is the most popular boy's name in Britain, bringing an end to the reign of Jack, which had top spot for 14 years but is now No 2.

Oliver's popularity is so great that it has even spread to girls. Olivia is the most popular girl's name for the second year running. Ruby remains the second most popular.

Oliver has a long history in Britain even though it has never been widely popular until now. Originally French, it was introduced by the Normans as a surname, before also evolving into a first name during the Tudor period. According to the Office for National Statistics there were no new entries in the top ten for boys or girls last year. Even in the top 100 boys' names there were only six new entries: Aiden, Arthur, Frederick, Jude, Stanley and Austin. In the top 100, Lucas was the highest climber, up 19 places to 17.

Mohammed is 16th for boys, but in all its different spellings it is seventh.

Girls' names had three new entries in the top 100: Heidi, Sara and Maya. Within the top 100, Maisie was the biggest climber, up 29 places to 34.

The new figures are published with those dating from before the First World War. The popularity of boys' names has shown remarkable stability: John, William, and George were the top three in 1914 and would not be an embarrassment today. The girls' names change radically. Mary, Margaret and Doris were the top three in 1914. In 1944 it was Margaret, Patricia and Christine. Even the top three of 1984 — Sarah, Laura and Gemma — are out of fashion today.

Top 10 boys' names of 2009

1 Oliver

2 Jack

3 Harry

4 Alfie

5 Joshua

6 Thomas

7 Charlie

8 William

9 James

10 Daniel

Top ten girls' names

1 Olivia

2 Ruby

3 Chloe

4 Emily

5 Sophie

6 Jessica

7 Grace

8 Lily

9 Amelia

10 Evie"

And here's an Excel spreadsheet and a PDF news release from the Office of National Statistics which compiled the data:

http://www.statistic...n/2009-boys.xls

http://www.statistic...r/names1010.pdf

Im sure it didnt include the spelling of Jac, Jax, Jak, Jacque, Jacc, etc, or Jack and its variants would be number one

Here's a rather less inflammatory article from today's Times:

"It was the name of England's first Lord Protector and a fictional orphan. Other than Cromwell and Twist, though, famous Olivers are few and far between.

Not for much longer. According to the latest figures, Oliver is the most popular boy's name in Britain, bringing an end to the reign of Jack, which had top spot for 14 years but is now No 2.

Oliver's popularity is so great that it has even spread to girls. Olivia is the most popular girl's name for the second year running. Ruby remains the second most popular.

Oliver has a long history in Britain even though it has never been widely popular until now. Originally French, it was introduced by the Normans as a surname, before also evolving into a first name during the Tudor period. According to the Office for National Statistics there were no new entries in the top ten for boys or girls last year. Even in the top 100 boys' names there were only six new entries: Aiden, Arthur, Frederick, Jude, Stanley and Austin. In the top 100, Lucas was the highest climber, up 19 places to 17.

Mohammed is 16th for boys, but in all its different spellings it is seventh.

Girls' names had three new entries in the top 100: Heidi, Sara and Maya. Within the top 100, Maisie was the biggest climber, up 29 places to 34.

The new figures are published with those dating from before the First World War. The popularity of boys' names has shown remarkable stability: John, William, and George were the top three in 1914 and would not be an embarrassment today. The girls' names change radically. Mary, Margaret and Doris were the top three in 1914. In 1944 it was Margaret, Patricia and Christine. Even the top three of 1984 — Sarah, Laura and Gemma — are out of fashion today.

Top 10 boys' names of 2009

1 Oliver

2 Jack

3 Harry

4 Alfie

5 Joshua

6 Thomas

7 Charlie

8 William

9 James

10 Daniel

Top ten girls' names

1 Olivia

2 Ruby

3 Chloe

4 Emily

5 Sophie

6 Jessica

7 Grace

8 Lily

9 Amelia

10 Evie"

And here's an Excel spreadsheet and a PDF news release from the Office of National Statistics which compiled the data:

http://www.statistic...n/2009-boys.xls

http://www.statistic...r/names1010.pdf

Im sure it didnt include the spelling of Jac, Jax, Jak, Jacque, Jacc, etc, or Jack and its variants would be number one

I can guarantee you the number one name will never be "Donnyboy".

Here's a rather less inflammatory article from today's Times:

"It was the name of England's first Lord Protector and a fictional orphan. Other than Cromwell and Twist, though, famous Olivers are few and far between.

Not for much longer. According to the latest figures, Oliver is the most popular boy's name in Britain, bringing an end to the reign of Jack, which had top spot for 14 years but is now No 2.

Oliver's popularity is so great that it has even spread to girls. Olivia is the most popular girl's name for the second year running. Ruby remains the second most popular.

Oliver has a long history in Britain even though it has never been widely popular until now. Originally French, it was introduced by the Normans as a surname, before also evolving into a first name during the Tudor period. According to the Office for National Statistics there were no new entries in the top ten for boys or girls last year. Even in the top 100 boys' names there were only six new entries: Aiden, Arthur, Frederick, Jude, Stanley and Austin. In the top 100, Lucas was the highest climber, up 19 places to 17.

Mohammed is 16th for boys, but in all its different spellings it is seventh.

Girls' names had three new entries in the top 100: Heidi, Sara and Maya. Within the top 100, Maisie was the biggest climber, up 29 places to 34.

The new figures are published with those dating from before the First World War. The popularity of boys' names has shown remarkable stability: John, William, and George were the top three in 1914 and would not be an embarrassment today. The girls' names change radically. Mary, Margaret and Doris were the top three in 1914. In 1944 it was Margaret, Patricia and Christine. Even the top three of 1984 — Sarah, Laura and Gemma — are out of fashion today.

Top 10 boys' names of 2009

1 Oliver

2 Jack

3 Harry

4 Alfie

5 Joshua

6 Thomas

7 Charlie

8 William

9 James

10 Daniel

Top ten girls' names

1 Olivia

2 Ruby

3 Chloe

4 Emily

5 Sophie

6 Jessica

7 Grace

8 Lily

9 Amelia

10 Evie"

And here's an Excel spreadsheet and a PDF news release from the Office of National Statistics which compiled the data:

http://www.statistic...n/2009-boys.xls

http://www.statistic...r/names1010.pdf

Im sure it didnt include the spelling of Jac, Jax, Jak, Jacque, Jacc, etc, or Jack and its variants would be number one

I can guarantee you the number one name will never be "Donnyboy".

Nor will it ever be "chucky", unless in some distant future power-chucking becomes an admired sport.

Here's a rather less inflammatory article from today's Times:

"It was the name of England's first Lord Protector and a fictional orphan. Other than Cromwell and Twist, though, famous Olivers are few and far between.

Not for much longer. According to the latest figures, Oliver is the most popular boy's name in Britain, bringing an end to the reign of Jack, which had top spot for 14 years but is now No 2.

Oliver's popularity is so great that it has even spread to girls. Olivia is the most popular girl's name for the second year running. Ruby remains the second most popular.

Oliver has a long history in Britain even though it has never been widely popular until now. Originally French, it was introduced by the Normans as a surname, before also evolving into a first name during the Tudor period. According to the Office for National Statistics there were no new entries in the top ten for boys or girls last year. Even in the top 100 boys' names there were only six new entries: Aiden, Arthur, Frederick, Jude, Stanley and Austin. In the top 100, Lucas was the highest climber, up 19 places to 17.

Mohammed is 16th for boys, but in all its different spellings it is seventh.

Girls' names had three new entries in the top 100: Heidi, Sara and Maya. Within the top 100, Maisie was the biggest climber, up 29 places to 34.

The new figures are published with those dating from before the First World War. The popularity of boys' names has shown remarkable stability: John, William, and George were the top three in 1914 and would not be an embarrassment today. The girls' names change radically. Mary, Margaret and Doris were the top three in 1914. In 1944 it was Margaret, Patricia and Christine. Even the top three of 1984 — Sarah, Laura and Gemma — are out of fashion today.

Top 10 boys' names of 2009

1 Oliver

2 Jack

3 Harry

4 Alfie

5 Joshua

6 Thomas

7 Charlie

8 William

9 James

10 Daniel

Top ten girls' names

1 Olivia

2 Ruby

3 Chloe

4 Emily

5 Sophie

6 Jessica

7 Grace

8 Lily

9 Amelia

10 Evie"

And here's an Excel spreadsheet and a PDF news release from the Office of National Statistics which compiled the data:

http://www.statistic...n/2009-boys.xls

http://www.statistic...r/names1010.pdf

Im sure it didnt include the spelling of Jac, Jax, Jak, Jacque, Jacc, etc, or Jack and its variants would be number one

I can guarantee you the number one name will never be "Donnyboy".

Nor will it ever be "chucky", unless in some distant future power-chucking becomes an admired sport.

Have you always butted into other conversations uninvited?

Bad manners there, Harry.

7 Charlie

I can guarantee you the number one name will never be "Donnyboy".

Nor will it ever be "chucky", unless in some distant future power-chucking becomes an admired sport.

Have you always butted into other conversations uninvited?

Bad manners there, Harry.

Isn't Chuck a variation on Charles?

Here's a rather less inflammatory article from today's Times:

"It was the name of England's first Lord Protector and a fictional orphan. Other than Cromwell and Twist, though, famous Olivers are few and far between.

Not for much longer. According to the latest figures, Oliver is the most popular boy's name in Britain, bringing an end to the reign of Jack, which had top spot for 14 years but is now No 2.

Oliver's popularity is so great that it has even spread to girls. Olivia is the most popular girl's name for the second year running. Ruby remains the second most popular.

Oliver has a long history in Britain even though it has never been widely popular until now. Originally French, it was introduced by the Normans as a surname, before also evolving into a first name during the Tudor period. According to the Office for National Statistics there were no new entries in the top ten for boys or girls last year. Even in the top 100 boys' names there were only six new entries: Aiden, Arthur, Frederick, Jude, Stanley and Austin. In the top 100, Lucas was the highest climber, up 19 places to 17.

Mohammed is 16th for boys, but in all its different spellings it is seventh.

Girls' names had three new entries in the top 100: Heidi, Sara and Maya. Within the top 100, Maisie was the biggest climber, up 29 places to 34.

The new figures are published with those dating from before the First World War. The popularity of boys' names has shown remarkable stability: John, William, and George were the top three in 1914 and would not be an embarrassment today. The girls' names change radically. Mary, Margaret and Doris were the top three in 1914. In 1944 it was Margaret, Patricia and Christine. Even the top three of 1984 — Sarah, Laura and Gemma — are out of fashion today.

Top 10 boys' names of 2009

1 Oliver

2 Jack

3 Harry

4 Alfie

5 Joshua

6 Thomas

7 Charlie

8 William

9 James

10 Daniel

Top ten girls' names

1 Olivia

2 Ruby

3 Chloe

4 Emily

5 Sophie

6 Jessica

7 Grace

8 Lily

9 Amelia

10 Evie"

And here's an Excel spreadsheet and a PDF news release from the Office of National Statistics which compiled the data:

http://www.statistic...n/2009-boys.xls

http://www.statistic...r/names1010.pdf

Im sure it didnt include the spelling of Jac, Jax, Jak, Jacque, Jacc, etc, or Jack and its variants would be number one

I can guarantee you the number one name will never be "Donnyboy".

thats good it wont be so common

Isn't Chuck a variation on Charles?

In the same way that Jack is a variation on John.

If you can't believe the Daily Mail, how about CNN International?

_______________________________________________________

Mohammed tops list of English baby names

By Richard Allen Greene, CNN

October 28, 2010 -- Updated 1754 GMT (0154 HKT)

London, England (CNN) -- Hit the road, Jack.

Last year's most popular name for baby boys in England has been knocked off -- by Mohammed.

That's not immediately obvious from data put out this week by the Office of National Statistics, which declared Wednesday that Oliver was the single most popular name for boys born in 2009.

But a CNN analysis of the top 4,500 boys names shows that, when different spellings of the name are lumped together, Mohammed is No. 1.

Oliver and variations come second, followed by Jack, Thomas, Charles, Harry, William and Daniel.

The United Kingdom is about 4.6 percent Muslim, with just under 2.9 million Muslims according to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

And Muslims have a strong tendency to name their sons Mohammed.

"The first reason why people keep the children's name Mohammed is because of their love of the prophet Mohammed, because they want to emulate him," said Imam Abdullah al-Hasan of the East London Mosque.

"They want to copy him not just through his behavior and conduct, but also his name," said the imam, who is thinking about naming his own newborn son after the founder of Islam.

The Muslim population has risen rapidly in Western Europe in the past 20 years, according to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

From under 10 million in 1990, it's gone up to about 17 million today, the think tank said in a report last month.

That has be accompanied by tensions ranging from racial violence in parts of England to legal restrictions like banning the burqa in France and banning minarets in Switzerland.

But al-Hasan says Britain has nothing to fear.

"One message I would give to them is that you shouldn't be surprised. You shouldn't be scared. You shouldn't be frightened or anything like that," he said.

"It shows that Islam is here to stay in Britain. Islam is here to stay in Europe," he said. "It's not alien from the Western society. It's not alien to the British context."

CNN's Brittany Harris, Erin McLaughlin and Atika Shubert contributed to this report.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/10/28/uk.mohammed/index.html

Here's an excerpt from the book, "Freakonomics". Unrelated to Mohammed, but interesting all the same. This section of the book deals with how a child's name can determine their success or failure in life. Below is a tiny taste...

http://www.slate.com/id/2116449/

The California data establish just how dissimilarly black and white parents have named their children over the past 25 years or soa remnant, it seems, of the Black Power movement. The typical baby girl born in a black neighborhood in 1970 was given a name that was twice as common among blacks than whites. By 1980, she received a name that was 20 times more common among blacks. (Boys' names moved in the same direction but less aggressivelylikely because parents of all races are less adventurous with boys' names than girls'.) Today, more than 40 percent of the black girls born in California in a given year receive a name that not one of the roughly 100,000 baby white girls received that year. Even more remarkably, nearly 30 percent of the black girls are given a name that is unique among every baby, white and black, born that year in California. (There were also 228 babies named Unique during the 1990s alone, and one each of Uneek, Uneque, and Uneqqee; virtually all of them were black.)

---

Here's a summary of the book:

http://www.wikisummaries.org/Freakonomics:_A_Rogue_Economist_Explores_the_Hidden_Side_of_Everything

If you can't believe the Daily Mail, how about CNN International?

_______________________________________________________

Mohammed tops list of English baby names

By Richard Allen Greene, CNN

October 28, 2010 -- Updated 1754 GMT (0154 HKT)

And Muslims have a strong tendency to name their sons Mohammed.

"The first reason why people keep the children's name Mohammed is because of their love of the prophet Mohammed, because they want to emulate him," said Imam Abdullah al-Hasan of the East London Mosque.

"They want to copy him not just through his behavior and conduct, but also his name," said the imam, who is thinking about naming his own newborn son after the founder of Islam.

I wonder what all those little Mohammeds name their teddy bears?

Isn't Chuck a variation on Charles?

In the same way that Jack is a variation on John.

Really? I thought Jack was a name in it's own right whereas Chuck was a nik name for Charles. Learn something new every day.

Isn't Chuck a variation on Charles?

In the same way that Jack is a variation on John.

Really? I thought Jack was a name in it's own right whereas Chuck was a nik name for Charles. Learn something new every day.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/513387/nicknames_how_john_became_jack_and.html?cat=37

Here's an excerpt from the book, "Freakonomics". Unrelated to Mohammed, but interesting all the same. This section of the book deals with how a child's name can determine their success or failure in life. Below is a tiny taste...

http://www.slate.com/id/2116449/

The California data establish just how dissimilarly black and white parents have named their children over the past 25 years or so—a remnant, it seems, of the Black Power movement. The typical baby girl born in a black neighborhood in 1970 was given a name that was twice as common among blacks than whites. By 1980, she received a name that was 20 times more common among blacks. (Boys' names moved in the same direction but less aggressively—likely because parents of all races are less adventurous with boys' names than girls'.) Today, more than 40 percent of the black girls born in California in a given year receive a name that not one of the roughly 100,000 baby white girls received that year. Even more remarkably, nearly 30 percent of the black girls are given a name that is unique among every baby, white and black, born that year in California. (There were also 228 babies named Unique during the 1990s alone, and one each of Uneek, Uneque, and Uneqqee; virtually all of them were black.)

---

Here's a summary of the book:

http://www.wikisumma...e_of_Everything

I've always been a little bemused by the mainly black penchant for unique names. Rihanna, Lawanda, Beyonce etc. We get it here in NZ too, but somewhat odder as the Maori trend is for names after something... Castille, Jaguar,...I know some twins named Starsky and Hutch (honest!), and there is reputedly a set of twins named Benson and Hedges..... babies named after the place of conception are not unusual eg A;bert Park, Valiant (a car model), Scotland, Qantas ( parents must be mile high club members ).

I googled "odd baby names" and came a cross a list that I thought the compiler must have had a fairly narrow life experience because she/he included in the "top 100 unique baby girl names" Matilda, Shiraz, Daniela, Mikaela, and Aisla....which I think are not all that uncommon, in fact I think they may be quite traditional in some cultures.

Just goes to show.....odd is in the eye of the beholder.

If you can't believe the Daily Mail, how about CNN International?

_______________________________________________________

Mohammed tops list of English baby names

By Richard Allen Greene, CNN

October 28, 2010 -- Updated 1754 GMT (0154 HKT)

London, England (CNN) -- Hit the road, Jack.

Last year's most popular name for baby boys in England has been knocked off -- by Mohammed.

That's not immediately obvious from data put out this week by the Office of National Statistics, which declared Wednesday that Oliver was the single most popular name for boys born in 2009.

But a CNN analysis of the top 4,500 boys names shows that, when different spellings of the name are lumped together, Mohammed is No. 1.

Oliver and variations come second, followed by Jack, Thomas, Charles, Harry, William and Daniel.

The United Kingdom is about 4.6 percent Muslim, with just under 2.9 million Muslims according to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

And Muslims have a strong tendency to name their sons Mohammed.

"The first reason why people keep the children's name Mohammed is because of their love of the prophet Mohammed, because they want to emulate him," said Imam Abdullah al-Hasan of the East London Mosque.

"They want to copy him not just through his behavior and conduct, but also his name," said the imam, who is thinking about naming his own newborn son after the founder of Islam.

The Muslim population has risen rapidly in Western Europe in the past 20 years, according to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

From under 10 million in 1990, it's gone up to about 17 million today, the think tank said in a report last month.

That has be accompanied by tensions ranging from racial violence in parts of England to legal restrictions like banning the burqa in France and banning minarets in Switzerland.

But al-Hasan says Britain has nothing to fear.

"One message I would give to them is that you shouldn't be surprised. You shouldn't be scared. You shouldn't be frightened or anything like that," he said.

"It shows that Islam is here to stay in Britain. Islam is here to stay in Europe," he said. "It's not alien from the Western society. It's not alien to the British context."

CNN's Brittany Harris, Erin McLaughlin and Atika Shubert contributed to this report.

http://edition.cnn.c...mmed/index.html

must be fact now, fox news also reports it

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/10/28/mohammed-tops-list-popular-baby-boy-britain/