Muhammad (name)

Muhammad
"Muhammad the Messenger of God", inscribed on the gates of the mosque al-Masjid an-Nabawi
Pronunciation
GenderMale
Origin
Word/nameArabic
Meaning"praiseworthy"
Region of originArabia
Other names
Alternative spellingMoohammed, Mahmad, Mahammad, Mahammed, Muhammadu, Mahamed, Mohamad, Mohamed, Mohammad, Mohammed, Muhamad, Muhamed, Muhammed, Muhammet, Muhummud, Mahammud, Mohd. Muh., Mochamad, Mohamud, Mokhmad, Mukhammad, Md., Mu., Mo., M., Mohammad, Muhammad,

Muhammad (Arabic: مُحَمَّد, romanized: Muḥammad) is an Arabic given male name meaning "praiseworthy". The name comes from the passive participle of the Arabic verb ḥammada (حَمَّدَ), meaning "to praise", which itself comes from the triconsonantal Semitic root Ḥ-M-D. Other spellings of the name include Muhammed, Muhamad, Mohammad, Mohammed, Mamed, Mahammad, Maxamed, Mehemmed, Mehemmet, Mohamad, Mohamed, Mehmed/Mehmet, Memet, Mamadou, Magomed, and a variety of other ways. Believed to be the most popular name in the world, by July 2014 it was estimated to have been given to 150 million men and boys.

The name has been banned for newborn children in the Xinjiang region of China since 2017, as well as for the Ahmadi community in Pakistan.

Lexicology

The name Muḥammad is the standard, primary transliteration of the Arabic given name, محمد, that comes from the Arabic passive participle of ḥammada (حَمَّدَ), praise, and further from triconsonantal Semitic root Ḥ-M-D (praise); hence praised, or praiseworthy. However, its actual pronunciation differs colloquially, for example, in Egyptian Arabic: IPA: [mæˈħæmːæd], while in exclusively religious contexts, talking about Islam: IPA: [moˈħæmːæd].

The name has one of the highest numbers of English spelling variants in the world. Other Arabic names from the same root include Mahmud, Ahmed, Hamed, Tahmid, and Hamid.

The name may be abbreviated to Md., Mohd., Muhd., Mhd., or simply M.

Statistics

According to the sixth edition of The Columbia Encyclopedia (2000), Muhammad is probably the most common given name in the world, including variations. The Independent reported in 2014 that more than 150 million men and boys in the world bear the name Muhammad, which would make it the most popular name in the world. Approximately 60% of people named Muhammad live in Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan.

In 2024, the Office for National Statistics, which represents England and Wales collectively, reported that the name Muhammad was the most popular baby name for boys in that region in 2023.

Mohammed and Mohamed were the most popular baby name in Département Seine-Saint-Denis (2002, 2008) and in Marseille (2007, 2009), France. Similarly, since 2008 it has been the most popular baby boy name in Brussels and Antwerp, Belgium's most Muslim-populated cities.

In May 2006, it was reported that statistics indicate that some 8,928 Danish Muslims carry the name Muhammad and that in 2004 alone, 167 new-born babies were registered.

In 2009, Muhammad, the most common spelling variant, was ranked 430th in the US. According to the Social Security Administration, Mohammad was ranked 589th, Mohammed 633rd, and Muhammad the 639th most popular first name for newborns in 2006. In the 1990 United States census, the Muhammad variant of the spelling was ranked 4,194 out of 88,799 for people of all ages.

Part of the list of officially banned names in Xinjiang that was announced in 2017. China prohibits parents of the ethnic Uighur minority from giving their newborn children names such as Mohammed or names that the Chinese authorities consider to have "extremely religious" meaning.

In April 2017, the Chinese government prohibited parents from choosing the name Muhammad as the given name for a child. The list included more than two dozen names and was targeted at the 10 million Uighurs in the western region of Xinjiang.

If all variants of Muhammad are counted, there are 15,723 people in Finland named Muhammad, accounting for 0.7% of the Finnish male population. The most common spelling is Mohamed, accounting for 38% of the Muhammad name carriers.

In 2022, it was the 35th most popular name given to boys in Canada.

Given name

Mochamad

Mochammad

Mohamad

Mohamed

Mohammad

Mohammed

Muhamad

Muhamed

Muhammad

Muhammadu

Muhammed

Muhammet

Moegamat

Patronymics

ibn

bint

Teknonymy

Fictional

Derived names

Umm Muhammad

Famous derived names

Legality and restrictions

China

In 2017, legislation made it illegal in China to give children names that the Chinese government deemed to "exaggerate religious fervor”. This prohibition included a ban on naming children Arabic transliterations of Muhammad. The legislation was officially intended to prevent "religious extremism" among the country's Uyghurs, but was described by external observers as an act of persecution.. The traditional Uyghur transliteration Memet (Uyghur: مەمەت; Chinese: 买买提; pinyin: Mǎimǎití) was not banned.

Pakistan

The government of Pakistan forbids members of its Ahmadi community from naming their children Muhammad. Al Jazeera reported in 2021 that blasphemy charges had been filed against Ahmadis who wrote "Mohammed" on a wedding invitation in an unspecified amount of instances.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th edition
  2. ↑ Dugan, Emily (15 August 2014). "Most popular baby names: The top 20 boys and girls names in England and Wales". Independent. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Hernández, Javier C. (2017-04-25). "China Bans 'Muhammad' and 'Jihad' as Baby Names in Heavily Muslim Region". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  4. ↑ "Amid bullets and 'blasphemy', Pakistan's Ahmadis struggle on". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  5. ↑ "Muhammad- Dictionary"
  6. ↑ Humanism, Culture, and Language in the Near East: Asma Afsaruddin, A. H. Mathias Zahniser - 1997, p. 389.
  7. ↑ "MUHAMMAD, prophet of Islam. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001–07". 10 February 2009. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  8. ↑ "Baby names: The top 20 boys and girls names in England and Wales". The Independent. 2014-08-15. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  9. ↑ "Muhammad was most popular boys' baby name in England and Wales in 2023". Reuters. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  10. ↑ "Insee − Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques" (PDF). Insee. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  11. ↑ "Les parents marseillais ont craqué pour Inès et MOHAMED". 24 February 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  12. ↑ Verkruyssen, Freddy (24 November 2009). "EMMA EN NOAH ZIJN de populairste voornamen van 2008" (PDF) (in Dutch). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-10-11. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
  13. ↑ "JTW News - "MUHAMMAD" Most Popular Among Danish Muslims". Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  14. ↑ http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/babyname.cgi; searched for MOHAMED
  15. ↑ "Popular Baby Names". www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  16. ↑ Unless otherwise noted, figures are from http://www.name-stats.com/search.php?subject=MUHAMMAD&submit=Search. They don't include different forms of spelling except for 2009 and 2010 for the UK.
  17. ↑ "MUHAMMAD - Name Meaning, What does MUHAMMAD mean?". www.thinkbabynames.com. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  18. 1 2 Huang, Joyce (2017-04-26). "China Issues Ban on Many Muslim Names in Xinjiang". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 2020-06-12. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  19. ↑ "Digi- ja väestötietovirasto".
  20. ↑ "Digi- ja väestötietovirasto". verkkopalvelu.vrk.fi. Retrieved 2021-09-02.
  21. ↑ "Table 17-10-0147-01 First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators (Number)". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  22. ↑ Alford T. Welch; Ahmad S. Moussalli; Gordon D. Newby (2009). "Muḥammad". In John L. Esposito (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. The Prophet of Islam was a religious, political, and social reformer who gave rise to one of the great civilizations of the world. From a modern, historical perspective, Muḥammad was the founder of Islam. From the perspective of the Islamic faith, he was God's Messenger (rasūl Allāh), called to be a "warner," first to the Arabs and then to all humankind.
  23. ↑ Shepherd, Christian; Blanchard, Ben (30 March 2017). "China sets rules on beards, veils to combat extremism in Xinjiang". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2019-12-21. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  24. ↑ "China bans list of Islamic names in restive Xinjiang region". AP News. 2017-04-27. Retrieved 2026-08-08.
  25. ↑ Country Policy and Information Note Pakistan: Ahmadis
  26. ↑ Pakistan
  27. ↑ "Amid bullets and 'blasphemy', Pakistan's Ahmadis struggle on". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
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