Muhammad

What Muhammad means

Transliteration of Arabic مُحَمَّد (muḥammad, “praised, commendable, laudable”), the passive participle of حَمَّدَ (ḥammada, “to praise, commend, laud, extol”).

A male given name from Arabic, very popular among Muslims.

Source: Wiktionary, “Muhammad” (revision 93499266), CC BY-SA 4.0.

How popular is Muhammad?

US: Rising: up from #365 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #12 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2025, when 1,473 boys got the name (#239 that year). First in the US records in 1929.

How common

• About 1 in 1,160 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 46 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 67 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in NY (4.26 per 1,000 boys), MD (2.66 per 1,000 boys), DE (2.38 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Muhammad is #239 in the US and #1 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Muhammad were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Mohammed486 US · 1,712 E&W
• Mohammad529 US · 895 E&W
• Muhammed67 US · 385 E&W
• Mohamad73 US · 43 E&W
• Muhamad10 US · 13 E&W
• Muhamed10 US · 3 E&W
• Mouhamad9 US
• Mouhammad6 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Spelling variants on Wiktionary

• Mohammed
• Mohammad
• Mohamed
• Muhammed
• Mahomet

Listed as alternative forms on Wiktionary.

If you like Muhammad

Boys

• Amir#105“commander, prince”^*
• Musa#469Editor’s note More popular in England & Wales than the US: #64 vs #469 in 2025
• Yusuf#449Same root as Joseph, meaning “(God) shall add”^*
• Laith#893Editor’s note More popular in England & Wales than the US: #254 vs #893 in 2025
• Ibrahim#351Editor’s note Up from #436 in 2015 to #351 in 2025 in the US
• Ali#306“high, exalted”^*

For a sister

• Maryam#351Editor’s note More popular in England & Wales than the US: #52 vs #351 in 2025
• Zahra#538Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1973, with 8 babies
• Amina#315“faithful, trustworthy”^*
• Alia#587Feminine form of Ali, meaning “high, exalted”^*
• Zara#212“flower”^*
• Salem#435Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #1,425 in 2015, #435 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Arabic, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Muhammad’s. Rank is US 2025.

Famous people named Muhammad

• Muhammad Arabian political leader and the founder of Islam (c. 570–632)
• Muhammad Ali American boxer (1942–2016)
• Muhammad Yunus Bangladeshi banker, Nobel Peace Prize recipient and the former Chief Adviser of Bangladesh
• Muhammad Iqbal British-Indian Islamic philosopher, poet and politician (1877-1938)
• Muhammad Ali Jinnah politician and the founder of Pakistan (1876–1948)

People with this given name on Wikidata that have an English Wikipedia article, most widely covered first. Descriptions from Wikidata.