What's in the name 'Mohammed'

[Teddy Bear]

A rather curious concealment this year by the BBC, and I have to wonder why. Back in 2007 following the census outcome report the BBC didn't seem to have a problem informing the public that

Muhammad second most popular name

Muhammad is the second most popular name for baby boys in Britain, new research has found.
According to The Times, the name is now second only to Jack and is likely to rise to number one by next year.

The newspaper says the name - if all 14 different spellings are included - was shared by 5,991 new-born boys during last year.

The name's increased popularity is thought to be partly because more young Muslims are having families.

The official register of names puts Mohammed at number 23, but an analysis of the top 3,000 names puts Muhammad in second place once the different spellings are taken into account.

Third on the list was Thomas, followed by Joshua and Oliver.

They even print in the article a little chart to show all the variations of spelling of the name

DIFFERENT MUHAMMAD SPELLINGS
Mohammed - 2,833 occurrences
Muhammad - 1,422
Mohammad - 920
Muhammed - 358
Mohamed - 354
Mohamad - 29
Mahammed - 18
Mohammod - 13
Mahamed - 12
Muhammod - 9
Muhamad - 7
Mohmmed - 6
Mohamud - 5
Mohammud - 5

So 3 years later the name Mohammed or variation has indeed risen to the number one spot, and knowing that the BBC is well aware of the variations, one has to wonder why the BBC not only makes a point to conceal it, but includes another article by Mark Easton omitting this fact.

Oliver and Olivia top names' list

Almost 27,000 different boys' names were registered in 2009
Oliver has become the most popular boys' name in England and Wales, ending Jack's 14-year reign.

Olivia was the top girls' name for a second consecutive year, according to the Office for National Statistics' list of most popular names for 2009.

There were no new entries in the top 10 for either boys' or girls' names compared with 2008, although there were regional variations.

Jack was still the top in Wales and the North East and North West of England.

Mohammed was at number 16 nationally, but was the most popular boys' name in the West Midlands, ONS said.

There was less regional variation among girls' names, although Isabella made an appearance at number six in London, while Ava and Lucy appeared in the top 10 for the North East.

After Oliver at the top of the list, followed by Jack, the rest of the top 10 in England and Wales were filled by Harry, Alfie, Joshua, Thomas, Charlie, William, James and Daniel.

The top 10 girls' names were Olivia at number one, followed by Ruby, Chloe, Emily, Sophie, Jessica, Grace, Lily, Amelia and Evie.

There were 706,248 live births in England and Wales in 2009, with 26,800 different boys' names and 34,100 different girls' names registered.

Comparing the 2009 list of top names with the lists a decade earlier, six boys' names featured in both lists: Jack, Joshua, Thomas, James, Daniel and William, with Olivia, Chloe, Emily, Sophie and Jessica also in both girls' lists.

The ONS said changes in the top 100 since 1999 showed there had been a resurgence in the popularity of names which "were perhaps once associated with people of the inter-war generation or earlier".


As examples, the ONS highlighted Evie which has risen 157 places to number 10 since 1999, Ruby (up 91 to number two) and Lily (up 45 to eight), and boys' names such as Alfie (up 60 to four) and Charlie (up 25 to seven).

It said it would have been unusual to find any of these names, other than Ruby or Lily, in official records from earlier times, as it was rarely permitted to register shortened or familiar names.

[steevo]

I'd be curious to know how many if any are named Osama? Or Obama ;D

Sorry, bad humor.

[Teddy Bear]

LOL - 2 too many for starters

[Teddy Bear]

(hat-tip Asherpat)

Clearly the BBC have decided to continue avoiding putting Mohammed, or its derivatives, at number one for England and Wales in 2012.

Here's what they tell us:

Top baby names revealed in England and Wales

Harry and Amelia were the most popular first names for babies in England and Wales in 2012 - taking the top spots for the second year running.

Riley was a new addition to the top 10, while Muhammad was the favourite name for boys born in London.

Mia and Isla replaced Ruby and Grace in the top 10 for girls, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

In total, more than 28,000 different boys' names and over 36,000 different girls' names were registered in 2012.

In Wales, Jacob and Amelia replaced Oliver and Lily as the most popular names.

Scotland and Northern Ireland released their data for 2012 in December - Jack and Sophie took top spot in both.

Top climbers
There were seven new entries into the top 100 boys' names for England and Wales - Hugo, Sonny, Seth, Elliott, Theodore, Rory and Ellis.

They knocked Joel, Hayden, John, Ashton, Jackson, Ben and Reece out of the top 100.

Six new names entered the top 100 for girls - Mollie, Ivy, Darcey, Tilly, Sara and Violet. Slipping down to make way for them were Lexie, Lauren, Rebecca, Tia, Nicole and Kayla.



The ONS said there were 729,674 live births in England and Wales in 2012, with the top 10 names accounting for 13% of all of those given that year.

Amelia was the most popular name in all regions of England. Harry was top in seven out of nine regions in England, with only Muhammad and Jack beating it in London and the North East respectively.

Among boys, Bobby showed the largest rise within the top 100 from 2011, gaining 19 places to number 57. For girls, Elsie was the highest climber, rising 17 places to 70.

Aiden and Isobel were the biggest fallers, dropping 19 and 18 places respectively year-on-year.

Kayden and Lexi
Five of the top 10 most popular boys' names in 2012 were also in the top 10 in 2002: Jack, Thomas, James, William and Oliver.

When compared with a decade ago, the biggest increase in popularity among names now in the top 10 was Riley (up 114 to number eight).

Benjamin - down to number 32 - has fallen the furthest since being in the top 10 in 2002.

Among those now in the top 100, Kayden has seen the biggest surge in the past decade, rising 662 places to number 92.

Four girls names which featured in 2002 have maintained a place in top 10 a decade later - Olivia, Jessica, Emily and Sophie.

Of the names in the top 10 in 2012, Isla has risen the furthest, up 268 to number 8. Megan, meanwhile, has seen the most significant drop out of the top 10 - falling 35 places to number 41.

Among names now in the top 100, Lexi has climbed the most places since 2002 - up 1,613 to number 46.

The ONS counts similar names with different spellings separately.

Okay, so they do tell us that Muhammad was the most popular boys name in London, and right at the bottom of the article the fact that different spellings of a name are counted separately, but seeing how Mohammed and its derivatives have been the most popular name here for the last few years, isn't it odd that it doesn't appear in their top ten figures this year?

In fact reading the actual figures asof the top 100 released by the Office for National Statistics we see that indeed Harry is the most popular name with 6,893 babies to its credit.

However, if we go to number 18 we see the name Muhammad with 3,127 credits, up 3 places since last year.
Then at number 25 is Mohammed with 2,796 credits, down 7 places since last year.
Then at number 58 is the name Mohammad with 1,109 credits, up 4 since last year.

This makes 7,032, and puts Mohammed again at number one.

I wonder if Muslims will be complaining to the BBC at not portraying their population growth properly. It would sure make for an interesting dilemma for the BBC - heh heh heh.

[steevo]

Gee now I get it after reading the very end (after scratching my head wondering why this was posted).

What frauds!

[Teddy Bear]

Again last years figures are showing the most popular name in England and Wales, and if you read the way the BBC are reporting it then Amelia and Oliver would be the most popular names. Except, as in previous recent years, if you look at the name Mohammed, and the various spellings of that name, it is the most popular boys name.

At least this year the BBC acknowledge it, but this is what they have to say about it

In previous years, some people have added up the spellings of Muhammad to put it in first place on the list.

There are eight different spellings, and if you add them up you get to 8,380, which would put the name in first place, ahead of Oliver on 6,949.

But you're on a slippery slope once you start combining entries on the list.

OOOooh, a slippery slope. No why would that be?

Their analysis then tells us:

If you add the number of babies called Harry to the number called Henry, for example, you get to 9,136. Combining Jack and Jacob gives you a whopping 13,649.

So names beginning with H or J is the same as being given some derivative of Mohammed.
That's what the BBC wants the public to believe.
So why do you think the BBC feel a need to avoid stating the obvious?
What do they fear the public would feel if they knew factually - Mohammed (or spelling variation) is really the most popular boys name?

Breitbart London has more on this, but here's the extract from the BBC article.

Most popular baby names Amelia and Oliver

Oliver has overtaken Harry to become the most popular boys' name for babies born in England and Wales in 2013.

Amelia tops the girls' list for the third year running, beating Olivia and Emily into second and third.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal that Oscar and George replaced Alfie and Riley in the top 10 while Poppy is a new entry at seven.

More than 35,000 different girls' names were registered in 2013 - compared to 27,000 for boys.

Elsie surged higher than any other name in the top 100, rising 23 places to number 47, while Theodore jumped 19 places to become 78th most popular boys' name.

The name Walter has become almost twice as popular in England and Wales since US series Breaking Bad began featuring lead character Walter White
Victoria (88th), Darcy (93rd) and Beatrice (95th) were all new entries for 2013.

Teddy was new to the boys' top 100, ranked number 86 alongside other newcomers Ibrahim (89th), Ronnie (90th), Felix (91st), Austin (94th) and Albert at number 99.

The ONS counts similar names with different spellings separately.

Analysis
By Anthony Reuben, BBC News head of statistics

In previous years, some people have added up the spellings of Muhammad to put it in first place on the list.

There are eight different spellings, and if you add them up you get to 8,380, which would put the name in first place, ahead of Oliver on 6,949.

But you're on a slippery slope once you start combining entries on the list.

If you add the number of babies called Harry to the number called Henry, for example, you get to 9,136. Combining Jack and Jacob gives you a whopping 13,649.

At the other end of the scale, the list goes down as far as names given to three babies, such as Achilles, Cecil, Ming and Rick for boys and Beryl, Darwin, Jo and Tracey for girls.

And among the more unusual, names of Harry Potter characters have started appearing in lists - including Draco, Sirius and Bellatrix.

[charmbrights]

The reason Mohammed has so many spellings in the West is that it is a transliteration from the Arabic form. It comes from " محمد ". Different people spell the same sounds differently. It is the sounds which count - so combining them is correct. This was acknowledged as a problem by the Home Office when identifying individuals entering Britain on Arabic script passports as long ago as the 1980s.

I also think that Teddy and Edward should be conflated, as one is derived from the other. This is quite different from differently derived words sounding the same (e.g. bough and bow).

[Teddy Bear]

I'd rather have Teddy linked to Edward than Mohammed any day although Teddy comes from Theodore, as in Roosevelt, so I'm not sure that Edward is from the same source.

Regarding the variations of Mohammed, without a doubt they are the same name - regardless of spelling, and if the BBC were trying to be accurate they wouldn't conflate the issue.

[steevo]

Teddy comes from Theodore, as in Roosevelt

And Teddy Bear is directly associated with Theodore Roosevelt.

[Teddy Bear]

[steevo]

I'm quite confident the 26th President of the United States, would approve.

[Teddy Bear]

[Teddy Bear]

Once again Muhammed tops the list as the most popular name in London, and totalling all the variations, the most popular name for England and Wales.
But you won't be told the latter directly by the BBC, but the figures they show confirm it.

First Breitbart:

OFFICIAL: MUHAMMAD MOST POPULAR NAME FOR BABY BOYS IN LONDON

by LIAM DEACON

The most popular name given to newborn baby boys in London in 2014 was Muhammad, according to the Office of National Statistics, after first taking the position in 2012.

The name featured twice in London’s top ten baby names, with spelling variation Mohammed coming in a number ten. The name is in 14th position across the whole of the UK.

Aisha, the name of the prophet Muhammad’s final wife and daughter of Abu Bakr, the first caliph to succeed Muhammad, rose 18 places to become the 76th most popular name for British baby girls.

Nationally, George rose three places into seventh position, following the birth of Prince George (pictured above). Oliver and Amelia where the most popular names for boys and girls respectively across the UK.

Top 10 boys’ names in London 2014:

Muhammad
Oliver
Alexander
Daniel
Joshua
James
Adam
George
Jack
Mohammed
Top 10 girls’ names in London 2014:

Amelia
Olivia
Sophia
Isabella
Emily
Maya
Sofia
Mia
Sophie
Chloe

The popularity of the name Muhammad is not limited to London and growth of the name’s use has been rapid (see graph, generated here).

In the North West region Muhammad came fifth. In Yorkshire and the Humber the name Muhammad was fourth and Mohammed was sixth. In the West Midlands region Muhammad placed second and Mohammed was third.

For the full listings, click here.

Here's how the BBC put it.

Baby names: Amelia and Oliver top England and Wales list

Oliver and Amelia were the most popular baby names in England and Wales in 2014 for the second year running.

Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that 6,649 baby boys were named Oliver, while 5,327 girls were called Amelia.
Jack, Harry and Jacob were the runners-up among the most popular boys' names, and Olivia, Isla and Emily for girls.
Characters from TV show Game Of Thrones have been inspiring some parents, with babies named Arya, Khaleesi and Tyrion.
Oliver topped the boys' table in Wales and seven of the nine English regions, with Muhammad heading the London list.
New entrants to the top 100 included Robyn, Nancy and Lottie for girls and Jackson, Joey and Ellis for boys.

What's in a name?
Born in 2014
6,649
Olivers - most popular boys name
5,327
Amelias - most popular girls name

"Mohammed" and common variations of in top 100: 7,240

Chart places "Harper" has moved up in a decade: 3,636
Number of Xerxes born in 2014: 3
ONS
For boys, Dexter has seen the largest increase in popularity over the past decade, and Kian had the biggest jump since last year.
Harper, the name David and Victoria Beckham chose for their daughter in 2011, has seen the largest rise in the girls' list. The name was 89th most popular in 2014 (up 3,636 places since 2004).
line
The top 10 baby girls' names were:
Amelia
Olivia
Isla
Emily
Poppy
Ava
Isabella
Jessica
Lily
Sophie
The leading boys' names were:
Oliver
Jack
Harry
Jacob
Charlie
Thomas
George
Oscar
James
William

Source: ONS

[Teddy Bear]

Ross Clark at the Spectator spells it out, which the BBC et al don't seem able to do.

Muhammad really is the single most popular boys’ name in England and Wales

Ross Clark

Why doesn’t the Office of National Statistics want us to know that Mohammed is the most popular boys’ name in England and Wales? Yesterday, it put out its annual survey of the top 10 baby’s names. In 2014, it reported, the most popular boys’ names were Oliver, Jack and Harry. This contrasts somewhat with a similar survey by the website BabyCentre last December which claimed that the most popular boys’ name was now Mohammed.

When that survey was reported in the Daily Mail it was jumped upon by various left-wing ‘fact-checker’ websites who denounced the survey as an abuse of statistics. Not only were the figures based only on respondents to a single website – which is true – but they had been arrived at by the ‘dubious’ means of adding together various spellings of Mohammed, while ignoring different spellings of other names. Though the Mail reported the survey purely as a matter of interest – as did the Guardian, in fact – the accusation was clear: the tabloids were yet again trying to stir up fears of Britain being over-run by muslims.

Yet when you look beyond the ONS press release – which makes no mention of the name Mohammud other than revealing that that variant of spelling is the most popular name in London – you get a different story. Examine the spreadsheet on the ONS website, and the raw figures reinforce the BabyCentre survey: Mohammed really is the single most popular name. The totals it gives are Muhammad 3588, Mohammed 2536, Mohammad 1116, a total of 7240. There were, by contrast, 6649 Olivers, 5804 Jacks and 5379 Harrys. You can get to 7555 if you add the Olivers to the 906 Ollies. But then Oliver and Ollie are not really the same name. The latter is a shortened, bastardised version of the former. Muhammad/Mohammed/Mohammad, on the other hand, are different transliterations of the same name, and are pronounced the same. There is no other name where different spellings come close to challenging it.

Ten years ago, the ONS was quite happy to announce in its press release that Mohammed – then apparently the preferred spelling — had entered the top 20 most popular baby’s names. But now it seems it has become shy of informing us that it is now the single most popular boys’ name in England and Wales.

Having lots of baby Mohammuds/Mohammeds/Mohammads running around doesn’t turn us into an Islamic country, of course, because Islamic names are easily outnumbered by Christian ones overall. But if our national statistical agency is going to publish a list of popular names I don’t see why it shouldn’t let us know the true picture, which is after all surely of as much interest to multiculturalists as it is to Islamophobes.