For years, Muhammad has been racing up the chart of the country’s most popular baby names – and now he has been joined by his sisters Nur and Maryam.
According to the website BabyCentre, the two girls’ names have been among the most popular of 2014. The data shows a surge in Arabic names in the UK this year, with Omar, Ali and Ibrahim all entering the boys’ top 100 for the first time.
For girls, Maryam has shot up 59 places to number 35, while Nur is a new entry in the girls’ top 100, jumping straight to number 29.
Muhammad has risen an astonishing 27 places compared to last year to claim the number-one spot for boys.
Sarah Redshaw, managing editor for BabyCentre, said: ‘With the increase of Arabic names, the top 100 shows the ever-increasing diversity of the UK today.’
She also stated that Ariana entered the top 100 girls’ names for the first time, with singer Ariana Grande topping the charts this year.
Game Of Thrones star Emilia Clarke inspired new entry Emilia at number 53 and Piper was up 267 percent, thanks to TV series Orange Is The New Black.
Miss Redshaw added that parents are wary of names associated with celebrities who exhibit bad behavior, pointing out that the controversial pop singer Miley Cyrus is a prime example.’
Meanwhile, some names
are still banned in certain countries.
1- Tom: Portuguese authorities ban nicknames from birth certificates. Tomás would be OK, but Tom is not allowed.
2- Elaine: Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia released a list of names that were banned including western names and names with royal connotations like Prince.
3- Facebook: After years of parents giving their children silly names the Mexican state of Sonora released a list of names that were banned for being "derogatory, pejorative, discriminatory or lacking in meaning".
4- Traffic: This delightful name is banned in Sonoro, Mexico
5- Linda: You would get in trouble with the Saudi Arabian government if you name your child Linda after Linda from Eastenders.
6- Adolf Hitler: American neo-Nazi Heath Campbell came to public attention when a cake shop refused to ice a cake with his son's name - Adolf Hitler.
7- Alice: Sorry Alice, your name is banned in Saudi Arabia.
8- Lady Di: This name is banned in Sonoro, Mexico; however, Diana is allowed.
9- Metallica: Officials denied a Swedish couple a passport for their daughter, named after the band, but later withdrew the objection.
10. Circumcision: Apparently, this name is banned in Sonoro, Mexico, but one cannot imagine why would a couple name their child circumcision in the first place.
11- James Bond Well this awesome name is also banned in Sonoro.
12- Sex Fruit: New Zealand banned a couple from naming their child Sex fruit.
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