Muhammad has retained its position as the most popular baby boy name in the UK for the third year running, according to new figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The name was given to 5,957 boys in 2025, outstripping all other names by a significant margin. Variations of the name also ranked highly, with Mohammed coming in 20th place (1,712 registrations) and Mohammad at 55th (895 registrations).
Top 10 boys' names for 2025
The top 10 boys' names for 2025 are: Muhammad (1st), Noah (2nd, with over 4,000 registrations), Leo (3rd, over 3,000), Arthur, George, Oliver, Luca, Theodore, Oscar, and Fredie. Archie slipped from 10th place in 2024 to 11th this year.
Girls' names: Olivia remains queen
For girls, Olivia topped the list for the fourth consecutive year, followed by Amelia, Lily, Isla, and Florence. The rest of the top 10 includes Freya, Poppy, Elsie, and Isabella.
Why is Muhammad so popular?
The rise of Muhammad reflects the growing Muslim population in the UK. According to census data, 3% of people in England and Wales identified as Muslim in 2001, rising to 4.8% in 2011 and 6.5% (3.9 million) in 2021. Professor David Voas, an expert in population studies from the University of Essex, explained in 2014 that the name's popularity stems from limited variation in Muslim baby names. He stated: "The story basically is that 2 per cent of baby boys are now called Mohammed. The reason for that is that there is relatively little variation in Muslim names, as opposed to non-Muslim names. A higher proportion of Muslims give their male children the name Muhammad, in one variation or another. For non-Muslims, there is a huge range of everything." Professor Voas also noted that approximately 9 to 10 per cent of infants are born into Muslim families, and a significant proportion of those are named Muhammad or its variants.
