Popular names in Dubai: Mohammed, Mariam

Here are two recent sets of name rankings out of the United Arab Emirates.

First: In mid-2013, the UAE’s Ministry of Health released “year to date” baby name rankings topped by Mariam/Fatima and Mohammed:

Girl Names (babies in UAE, 2013)

1. Mariam (tie)
2. Fatima (tie)
3. Aiysha
4. Sara

Boy Names (babies in UAE, 2013)

1. Mohammed
2. Abdullah
3. Ahmed
4. Ali
5. Khalid
6. Saeed
7. Omar
8. Rashid

Second: Earlier this month, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) of Dubai — one of the 7 emirates in the UAE — released lists of popular girl names and boy names according to a survey of school registration records. I’m not sure what age range the records covered, but these rankings were also topped by Maryam and Mohammed:

Girl Names (children in Dubai, 2015)

1. Maryam
2. Sara/Sarah
3. Fatima/Fatma
4. Ayesha
5. Noor

Boy Names (children in Dubai, 2015)

1. Mohammed
2. Ali
3. Omar
4. Ahmed/Ahmad
5. Abdulla/Abdullah

One Dubai student named Mohammed was quoted as saying, “It is common to see four or five students share Mohammed as their first name in a class of 25 to 30 students. We usually get called by our second name.”

(I wonder where Hamad fell on these lists…?)

Sources: Mohammed most popular name for boys, The baby names that Dubai happens to loves the most

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Arab Emirates (public domain)