THE TELEGRAPH: Telegraph.co.uk today reports that Mohammed has become the most common name for baby boys born in London and in three other English regions.
In the capital, the Islamic name - including its varient spellings - was twice as popular as the second-placed name, Daniel, in 2008.
For those who follow these things, this won’t come as a huge surprise. We know that the UK’s Muslim population is growing, both through immigration and through its higher birthrate. We know that there are particular concentrations in London, the West Midlands and the North of England. We know that Muslim families tend to choose one particular name for their baby boys - Mohammed - a way that other communities do not.
And last week it was reported that the name was now the third most popular in England as a whole. In fact, Mohammed probably rose to the number one slot in the capital some time ago. For several years, I have been trying to pin this down as a fact. But until now, it has proved impossible because for the past decade or so, the Office for National Statistics has not disclosed regional breakdowns of popular baby names, only national totals. My requests for the regional figures were met with the response that this would be impossible to provide, even under the Freedom of Information Act. >>> Ben Leapman | Tuesday, September 15, 2009
