The name Muhammad wins the prize for the world’s most common name. It derives from the Arabic root “h-m-d†and means “praiseworthy one.†It’s often used, much like John Doe, to indicate someone whose name is unknown, or in combination with another given name. At least 15 million people worldwide are named Muhammad.
Because it is transliterated from the Arabic, Muhammad has a multitude of spellings, depending on the country of origin. The variation Mohammed is found in North Africa. Mohammad is used in Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Muhammed and Mohamed are familiar spellings in the Arab world. The variations are virtually endless: Mohamet, Muhamed, Mohamad, Mahammed, Mohammod, Mahamed, Muhammod, Muhamad, Mohammed, Mohamud and Mohammud. Muhammad translated into other languages becomes Mehmet (Turkey, Albania), Maxamed (Somalia), and so on.
One of the reasons the name Muhammad has become so popular is that Islam, which was founded by the prophet Muhammad, has become the world’s second most popular religion after Christianity. Muslim parents often name a boy Muhammad to show their reverence for the Prophet and Islam and to influence their child in developing good character. There may be as many as 1.2 billion Muslims in the world. That’s one-fifth of the global population, and those numbers are increasing by almost 3% every year. Muslims constitute the majority in 52 countries.
In England, which is home to some 1.5 million Muslims, the name Muhammad is now the second most popular after Jack—particularly among men under 35—and is expected to be number one in 2007. Almost 6,000 British boy babies were named Muhammad in 2006. In the U.S., the name Mohammad was ranked 589th in a 2006 report of the Social Security Administration.
What's the World's Most Common Name ?
- awais
- Extreme Poster
- Posts: 2145
- Joined: Mar 19, 2007
- Location: Lahore
- chandoo
- Ultimate Contributor
- Posts: 19019
- Joined: Sep 08, 2007
- Location: Lahore
- Contact:
- ujala
- Ultimate Contributor
- Posts: 18532
- Joined: Jan 31, 2009
- Location: Islamabad
- Contact:
- Ch.Usman Ali
- Loyal Member
- Posts: 165
- Joined: Nov 03, 2008
- Location: Dubai
Assalam-0-Alaikum,
Assalam-0-Alaikum,
"SUBHANALLAH & MASHALLAH"
Absolutely Gorgeous.
"JAZZAK ALLAH KHAIR"
Ch.Usman Ali.
"SUBHANALLAH & MASHALLAH"
Absolutely Gorgeous.
"JAZZAK ALLAH KHAIR"
Ch.Usman Ali.