How popular is the baby name Mohammad in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Mohammad.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Mohammad


Posts that Mention the Name Mohammad

Where did the baby name Rajai come from in 1980?

Iranian politician Mohammad-Ali Rajai (1933-1981)
Mohammad-Ali Rajai

The name Rajai first appeared in the U.S. baby name data in 1980, and its usage increased in 1981:

  • 1982: unlisted
  • 1981: 13 baby boys named Rajai [peak usage]
  • 1980: 9 baby boys named Rajai [debut]
  • 1979: unlisted
  • 1978: unlisted

After that, though, it dropped out of the data again (and didn’t return until the early 2000s).

What was influencing the name in the early ’80s?

Iranian politician Mohammad Ali Rajai, who served briefly as Iran’s second president in 1981.

Rajai was born into poverty the early 1930s, and became politically active as a young man. He was involved in the Iranian Revolution (1978-79), which overthrew the monarchy (under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi*) and established an Islamic republic (under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini).

After Rajai was selected as Iran’s prime minister in August of 1980, his name started to pop up in the U.S. newspapers.

Those newspaper mentions became a lot more frequent the following summer. Rajai was elected president in late July, and he began his term in early August. But on August 30 — after less than a month in office — Rajai and many other government officials (including the new prime minister) were killed by a bomb blast in Tehran.

I haven’t been able to figure out the etymology of Rajai, but it could be related to the Arabic names Raja (meaning “hope”) and Rajiya (“hopeful”).

Interestingly, one of the 1980 babies named Rajai is former professional baseball player Rajai Davis (who played against Anthony Rizzo in 2016 World Series).

What are your thoughts on the baby name Rajai?

*Two of the Shah’s wives, Soraya and Farah, also had an influence on U.S. baby names…

Sources: Mohammad-Ali Rajai – Wikipedia, Mohammad Ali Raja’i – Britannica, Iranian Revolution – Wikipedia, Behind the Name, SSA
Image: Adapted from Banisadr & Rajai

Popular baby names in Norway, 2020

According to Statistics Norway, the most popular baby names in the country in 2020 were Nora/Norah and Jakob/Jacob.

Here are Norway’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2020:

Girl Names

  1. Nora/Norah, 416 baby girls
  2. Emma, 362
  3. Ella, 337
  4. Maja/Maia/Maya, 321
  5. Olivia, 315
  6. Emilie, 306
  7. Sofie/Sophie, 296
  8. Leah/Lea, 288
  9. Sofia/Sophia, 282
  10. Ingrid, 271

Boy Names

  1. Jakob/Jacob, 422 baby boys
  2. Emil, 419
  3. Noah/Noa, 396
  4. Oliver, 382
  5. Filip/Fillip/Philip/Phillip, 381
  6. William, 339
  7. Lucas/Lukas, 316
  8. Liam, 308
  9. Henrik, 300
  10. Oskar/Oscar, 297

In the girls’ top 10, Emilie and Leah/Lea replaced Ada and Sara/Sarah/Zara.

In the boys’ top 10, Liam replaced Aksel/Axel.

In the capital city of Oslo, the top names were Mohammad and Maja.

Finally, in 2019, the top two names were Emma and Jakob/Jacob.

Sources: Navn – SSB, Dette var de mest populære navnene i 2020 – SSB

Baby names in the news: Smokey, Indica, X AE A-Xii

Some recent baby names from the news…

Indica: A baby girl born in the U.S. (in Baltimore?) in February of 2020 was named Indica, after the strain of cannabis. Indica has an older sister named SaTiva, after another strain of cannabis. (Metro)

Ranvijay: A baby boy born in India in March of 2020 was named Mohammad Ranvijay, middle name in honor of police officer Ranvijay Singh, who’d helped the baby’s father attend the birth during lockdown. (NDTV)

Smokey: A baby boy born in New South Wales, Australia, in November of 2019 — while the Gospers Mountain fire was burning — was named Smokey. (Sydney Morning Herald)

Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas: The baby boy born in England in April of 2020 to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his fiancee, Carrie Symonds, was named Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas — Wilfred after Boris’s grandfather, Lawrie after Carrie’s grandfather, and Nicholas after Dr. Nicholas Price and Prof. Nicholas Hart, “the two doctors that saved Boris’s life last month.” (The Guardian)

Wyatt: The baby boy born in April of 2020 to news anchor Anderson Cooper was named Wyatt after Anderson’s late father, Wyatt Cooper. (PinkNews)

X AE A-Xii: The baby boy born in California in May of 2020 to entrepreneur Elon Musk and musician Grimes was initially named X Æ A-12. (The “A-12” part refers to the Lockheed A-12 aircraft.) On the birth certificate, though, is an altered version of the name: X AE A-Xii. (BBC, People)

P.S. Speaking of both Smokey and the ligature Æ (pronounced “ash”)…the first baby koala born at the Australian Reptile Park in New South Wales following the New South Wales bushfires was named Ash. (CNN)

Popular baby names in Norway, 2019

According to Statistics Norway, the most popular baby names in Norway in 2019 were Emma and Jakob/Jacob.

Here are Norway’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2019:

Girl Names

  1. Emma, 393 baby girls
  2. Nora/Norah, 379
  3. Sofie/Sophie, 326
  4. Ella, 319
  5. Olivia, 303
  6. Ada, 291
  7. Sofia/Sophia, 271
  8. Sara/Sarah/Zara, 265
  9. Maja/Maia/Maya, 260
  10. Ingrid, 258

Boy Names

  1. Jakob/Jacob, 423 baby boys
  2. Lucas/Lukas, 392
  3. Filip/Fillip/Philip/Phillip, 387
  4. Oskar/Oscar, 358
  5. Oliver, 353
  6. Emil, 347
  7. Henrik, 339
  8. William, 333
  9. Noah/Noa, 314
  10. Aksel/Axel, 311

In the girls’ top 10, Ada, Sofia/Sophia and Ingrid replaced Emilie, Leah/Lea, and Amalie. (Ada may have gotten a boost from Norwegian footballer Ada Hegerberg.)

In the boys’ top 10, William replaced Elias.

In the capital city of Oslo, the top names were Mohammad and Nora.

In 2018, the top two names were Emma and Lucas/Lukas.

Sources: Navn – SSB, Dette var de mest populære navnene i 2019, The top 10 Norwegian baby names for boys and girls