Despite potential for surprise, Mohammed has emerged as the most popular baby name in many German cities in 2023.

In Germany last year, Sophie and Noah were the most popular baby names, but there were significant differences between regions. The official baby name statistics for 2023 show that Mohammed is the most frequently given name in some of the country’s major cities. The German statistics treat the variants of each name as the same name, i.e. Mohammed is counted together with Mohamed, Muhammed, Mohammad, Muhammad, Muhammet, Muhamet and other forms, just as with Sophia and Sofia, which was the most popular girls’ name that year.

While nationally, Noah is the most popular boy’s name, the German newspaper Die Welt notes that a review of regional statistics reveals that Mohammed is the most popular name in Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen. In fact, RBB24 reports that in Berlin, Mohammed has been the top name for several years now.

The Society for the German Language (GfdS) also points out major regional differences. For instance, Mohammed is a top-ten name in the north of Germany, but doesn’t make the cut in the south, where the society notes traditional Christian names are more common than the national average. The society cites the prevalence of „tradition, history or customs” for this difference.

Mohammed had been the 29th most popular name in north Germany in 2022, but rose to 8th place in 2023. The situation is similar in the UK. Mohammed has been among the most frequently given boy’s names for years, with two other names of Muslim origin, Ibrahim and Yusuf, also making the top 100 list, as reported by V4NA earlier.

Sian Bradford, a statistics officer at the UK Office for National Statistics, previously pointed out that „popular culture continues to provide inspiration for baby names, whether it’s characters in our favorite show or trending celebrities. For example, the names Maeve and Otis came back into fashion because of a hit Netflix series. Archie leapt into the top 10 of baby names for boys — likely because Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle chose that name for their firstborn.