Muhammad: meaning and UK use

What does Muhammad mean?

Muhammad is formed from an Arabic root connected with praise. Alternative transliterations are recorded separately in spelling-based name statistics.

Language or name family covered

Arabic

Meaning or derivation

Praised or commendable

Our browsing group

boy; classic, international

Browsing groups describe our editorial shortlist, not rules about who may use a name. A name can cross languages and genders.

Sources for this entry — reviewed 2026-10-07:

• Behind the Name — Muhammad

Pronunciation and related forms

moo-HAM-uhd (English)

English respellings are approximate; IPA is labelled where used. Follow the pronunciation a person or family chooses, and check it with a speaker of the intended language if that connection matters to you.

Related forms recorded in the reference: Mohammed, Mohammad. These may be full forms, diminutives or forms in another language; they are not necessarily pronounced alike or counted together in statistics.

How popular is Muhammad?

In 2025, 5,957 baby boys in England and Wales were registered as Muhammad, making it the most popular boys’ name. That is the same position as in 2024. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it ranked 12th, so it has climbed 11 places in a decade. That equals its highest ranking in the ONS series, which starts in 1996. These figures cover England and Wales, not the whole UK.

2025 rank (boys)

1st

2025 registrations

5,957

Best rank in this series

1st (2025)

Every year from 1996 to 2025

Muhammad: rank and number of baby boys by year (ONS)

Year	Rank	Babies
2025	1	5,957
2024	1	5,721
2023	1	4,661
2022	2	4,177
2021	5	3,722
2020	5	3,710
2019	7	3,604
2018	8	3,507
2017	10	3,691
2016	8	3,908
2015	12	3,730
2014	14	3,588
2013	15	3,499
2012	19	3,161
2011	22	2,854
2010	31	2,451
2009	36	2,162
2008	37	2,081
2007	38	1,815
2006	43	1,636
2005	52	1,318
2004	51	1,286
2003	61	1,048
2002	61	979
2001	69	861
2000	69	780
1999	82	659
1998	89	621
1997	95	552
1996	108	441

The sum of published counts in this 1996–2025 boys series is 78,180. This is a lower bound where years are suppressed, not the number of living people with the name. A best rank is the best position within this series; it does not establish an all-time record.

Selected hyphenated registrations starting with Muhammad in 2025: Muhammad-Yusuf: 13 (boys). This selection includes up to four matching forms with at least ten registrations, not every compound name.

Sources: ONS release, 2025; girls' dataset; boys' dataset. Our 20 top-ten positions were checked against Table 1 in the 2025 workbooks. The history chart and spelling comparisons come from the separate ONS 1996–2025 workbook, checked 7 October 2026. Spelling variants are separate entries. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate statistics.

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Names to compare with Muhammad

These suggestions share a browsing group and one or more of our style tags or source-context labels. They are taste comparisons, not etymological relatives or a popularity ranking.

• Arjuninternational, classic · A modern form of Arjuna
• Eliasinternational, classic · A form of Elijah
• Hugoclassic, international · An old German form of Hugh
• Kofiinternational, classic · Born on Friday
• Kwameinternational, classic · Born on Saturday
• Roryinternational, classic · An anglicised form of Ruaidhrí

Read the UK naming guide for the difference between inspiration lists and official statistics, or return to the full name finder.

Registering or changing the name

Once you decide on Muhammad, confirm the registration process for your UK nation with the register office. If you later want to change a registered name, the route depends on the circumstances and may require consent from people with parental responsibility.

Start with GOV.UK birth registration or GOV.UK guidance on changing a child’s name. Our registration guide and child name-change guide explain where to find the relevant official process.