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Muhammad (name)#Transliterations

{{About|the given name|the Islamic prophet|Muhammad}}

{{more citations needed|date=November 2013}}

{{Infobox Given Name Revised

| name = Muhammad

| image = File:Al-Masjid AL-Nabawi Door.jpg

| caption = "Muhammad the Messenger of God", inscribed on the gates of the mosque al-Masjid an-Nabawi

| pronunciation = {{ubl|{{IPAc-en|m|oʊ|ˈ|h|æ|m|ə|d}}|{{IPAc-en|m|oʊ|ˈ|h|ɑː|m|ə|d}}| {{IPAc-en|m|uː|ˈ|h|æ|m|ə|d}}| {{IPAc-en|m|uː|ˈ|h|ɑː|m|ə|d}}Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th edition| {{IPAc-en|m|oʊ|ˈ|h|æ|m|ɛ|d}}| {{IPAc-en|m|oʊ|ˈ|h|ɑː|m|ɛ|d}}| {{IPAc-en|m|ə|ˈ|h|æ|m|ə|d}}| {{IPAc-en|m|ə|ˈ|h|æ|m|ɪ|d}}| {{IPA|ar|muˈħam.mad|lang|Ar-muhammad.ogg}}, {{IPA|ar|Mahammad|}} {{IPA|ar|moˈħæm.mæd|}}| {{IPA|arz|mæˈħæm.mæd|lang}}| {{IPA|fa|mohæmˈmæd|lang}}|{{IPA|tr|muˈham.med|lang}}| {{IPA|ur|mʊˈhəm.məd|lang}}| {{IPA|ku|mɪˈhɛm.mɛd|lang}}, {{IPA|tt|mø̞ˈχæm.mæt|lang}}}}

| gender = Male

| meaning = "praised", "worthy of all praises"{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

| region = Arabia

| origin = Arabic

| alternative spelling = Moohammed, Mahmad, Mahammad, Mahammed, Muhammadu, Mahamed, Mohamad, Mohamed, Mohammad, Mohammed, Muhamad, Muhamed, Muhammed, Muhammet, Muhummud, Mahammud, Mohd. Muh., Mochamad, Mohamud, Mokhmad, Mukhammad, Md., Mo., M., Mohammad, Muhammad,

| wikt =

}}

Muhammad ({{Langx|ar|مُحَمَّد|translit=Muḥammad}}) is an Arabic given male name meaning 'praiseworthy'. The name comes from the passive participle of the Arabic verb {{Transliteration|ar|ḥammada}} (حَمَّدَ), meaning 'to praise', which itself comes from the triconsonantal Semitic root Ḥ-M-D. Other spellings of the name include Muhammed, Muhamad, Mohammad, Mohammed, Mahammad, Maxammed, Mehemmed, Mehemmet, Mohamad, Mohamed, Mehmet, Mahometus, Mamadou,{{citation|title=Mamadou|url=https://www.ancestry.com/first-name-meaning/mamadou#:~:text=*Some%20content%20has%20been%20generated,which%20means%20praised%20or%20commendable|access-date=18 February 2025}} and a variety of other ways. Believed to be the most popular name in the world, by July 2014 it was estimated to have been given to 150 million men and boys.{{cite web |last1=Dugan |first1=Emily |title=Most popular baby names: The top 20 boys and girls names in England and Wales |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/most-popular-baby-names-the-top-20-boys-and-girls-names-in-england-and-wales-9671635.html |website=Independent |date=15 August 2014 |access-date=12 May 2020}}

The name has been banned for newborn children in the Xinjiang region of China since 2017,{{Cite news|last=Hernández|first=Javier C.|date=2017-04-25|title=China Bans 'Muhammad' and 'Jihad' as Baby Names in Heavily Muslim Region|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/25/world/asia/china-xinjiang-ban-muslim-names-muhammad-jihad.html|access-date=2022-02-12|issn=0362-4331}} as well as for the Ahmadi community in Pakistan.{{Cite web |title=Amid bullets and 'blasphemy', Pakistan's Ahmadis struggle on |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/26/ahmadi-persecution-pakistan-blasphemy-islam |access-date=2022-06-12 |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en}}

Lexicology

The name {{transliteration|ar|DIN|Muḥammad}} is the standard, primary transliteration of the Arabic given name, {{lang|ar|محمد}}, that comes from the Arabic passive participle of ḥammada ({{lang|ar|حَمَّدَ}}), praise, and further from triconsonantal Semitic root Ḥ-M-D (praise); hence praised, or praiseworthy. However, its actual pronunciation differs colloquially, for example, in Egyptian Arabic: {{IPA|arz|mæˈħæmːæd|IPA}}, while in exclusively religious contexts, talking about Islam: {{IPA|arz|moˈħæmːæd|IPA}}.[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/muhammad "Muhammad- Dictionary"]

The name has one of the highest numbers of English spelling variants in the world.Humanism, Culture, and Language in the Near East: Asma Afsaruddin, A. H. Mathias Zahniser - 1997 p 389 Other Arabic names from the same root include Mahmud, Ahmed, Hamed, Tahmid and Hamid.

Transliterations

The name may be abbreviated to Md., Mohd., Muhd., Mhd., or simply M. because of its ubiquity. Its popularity has meant that it can become hard to distinguish people. In some cases, it may be to keep a personal name less tied to a religious context. This is only done if the person has a second given name. Some men who have Muhammad (or variant) as a first name choose not to use it, as it is such a common name. Instead, they use another given name. For example, Anwar Sadat, Hosni Mubarak, Siad Barre, Zia-ul-Haq, Yusuf Khattak, Ayub Khan and Reza Pahlavi use their given name, second given name, or surname.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

Statistics

According to the sixth edition of The Columbia Encyclopedia (2000), Muhammad is probably the most common given name in the world, including variations.{{cite web|url=http://www.bartleby.com/65/MU/MUHAMMD.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210042242/http://www.bartleby.com/65/MU/MUHAMMD.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 February 2009|title=MUHAMMAD, prophet of Islam. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07|date=10 February 2009|access-date=2 November 2018}} The Independent reported in 2014 that more than 150 million men and boys in the world bear the name Muhammad, which would make it the most popular name in the world.{{Cite web |date=2014-08-15 |title=Baby names: The top 20 boys and girls names in England and Wales |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/most-popular-baby-names-the-top-20-boys-and-girls-names-in-england-and-wales-9671635.html |access-date=2022-06-12 |website=The Independent |language=en}} Approximately 60% of people named Muhammad live in Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan.

In 2024, the Office for National Statistics, which represents England and Wales collectively, reported that the name Muhammad was the most popular baby name for boys in that region in 2023.{{cite web|access-date=23 January 2025 |title=Muhammad was most popular boys' baby name in England and Wales in 2023 |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/muhammad-was-most-popular-boys-baby-name-britain-2023-2024-12-05/ |website=Reuters}}

Mohammed and Mohamed were the most popular baby name in Département Seine-Saint-Denis (2002, 2008){{cite web|url=http://www.insee.fr/fr/insee_regions/idf/themes/faits_et_chiffres/fc/numero27.pdf|title=Insee − Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques|website=Insee|access-date=2 November 2018}} and in Marseilles (2007, 2009), France.{{cite web|url=http://www.laprovence.com/article/region/LES-PARENTS-MARSEILLAIS-ONT-CRAQUE-POUR-INES-ET-MOHAMED|title=Les parents marseillais ont craqué pour Inès et MOHAMED|date=24 February 2008|access-date=2 November 2018}}

Similarly, since 2008 it has been the most popular baby boy name in Brussels and Antwerp, Belgium's most Muslim-populated cities.{{cite web |url=http://statbel.fgov.be/nl/binaries/BRO09725-N_tcm325-81232.pdf |title=EMMA EN NOAH ZIJN de populairste voornamen van 2008 |first=Freddy |last=Verkruyssen |language=nl |date= 24 November 2009 |access-date=2010-10-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101011224910/http://statbel.fgov.be/nl/binaries/BRO09725-N_tcm325-81232.pdf |archive-date=2010-10-11 }}

In May 2006, it was reported that statistics indicate that some 8,928 Danish Muslims carry the name Muhammad and that in 2004 alone, 167 new-born babies were registered.{{cite web|url=http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=31519|title=JTW News - "MUHAMMAD" Most Popular Among Danish Muslims|access-date=2 November 2018}}

In 2009, Muhammad, the most common spelling variant, was ranked 430th in the US.http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/babyname.cgi; searched for MOHAMED According to the Social Security Administration, Mohammad was ranked 589th, Mohammed 633rd, and Muhammad the 639th most popular first name for newborns in 2006.{{cite web|url=http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/|title=Popular Baby Names|website=www.ssa.gov|access-date=2 November 2018}} In the 1990 United States census, the Muhammad variant of the spelling was ranked 4,194 out of 88,799 for people of all ages.Unless otherwise noted, figures are from http://www.name-stats.com/search.php?subject=MUHAMMAD&submit=Search. They don't include different forms of spelling except for 2009 and 2010 for the UK.{{cite web|url=http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/MUHAMMAD|title=MUHAMMAD - Name Meaning, What does MUHAMMAD mean?|website=www.thinkbabynames.com|access-date=2 November 2018}}

File:Part of the list of banned ethnic minority names in Xinjiang.jpg |date=2017-04-26 |access-date=2020-06-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612035926/https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/china-issues-ban-many-muslim-names-xinjiang|archive-date=2020-06-12}}

]]

In April 2017, the Chinese government prohibited parents from choosing the name Muhammad as the given name for a child. The list included more than two dozen names and was targeted at the 10 million Uighurs in the western region of Xinjiang.

If all variants of Muhammad are counted, there are 15,723 people in Finland named Muhammad, accounting for 0.7% of the Finnish male population. The most common spelling is Mohamed, accounting for 38% of the Muhammad name carriers.{{Cite web|url=http://verkkopalvelu.vrk.fi/Nimipalvelu/default.asp?L=1|title = Digi- ja väestötietovirasto}}{{Cite web|title=Digi- ja väestötietovirasto|url=http://verkkopalvelu.vrk.fi/Nimipalvelu/default.asp?L=1|access-date=2021-09-02|website=verkkopalvelu.vrk.fi}}

In 2022, it was the 35th most popular name given to boys in Canada.{{Cite web|url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1710014701|title=Table 17-10-0147-01 First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators (Number)|website=Statistics Canada|access-date=2024-08-25}}

Given name

=Mamadou=

=Mochamad=

=Mochammad=

=Mohamad=

=Mohamed=

=Mohammad=

=Mohammed=

=Muhamad=

=Muhamed=

=Muhammad=

=Muhammadu=

  • Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerian politician who served as military dictator from 1983 to 1985, and democratically elected president from 2015 to 2023.

=Muhammed=

=Muhammet=

= Moegamat =

Surname

=Mahomed=

  • Dean Mahomed (1759–1851), British Indian traveller, soldier, surgeon, and entrepreneur

=Mohamad=

  • Mahathir Mohamad (born 1925), Malaysian politician; Prime Minister of Malaysia (1981–2003; 2018–2020)

=Mohamed=

=Mohammad=

=Mohammed=

=Muhammad=

Patronymics

=ibn=

  • Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn Hazm (?–737), scholar
  • Ibrahim ibn Muhammad (630–632), the Islamic prophet's son
  • Qasim ibn Muhammad (598–600), the Islamic prophet's son
  • Abdullah ibn Muhammad (600–614), the Islamic prophet's son
  • Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad (1332-1406) Arab historiographer and historian
  • Marwan ibn Muhammad
  • Abdallah ibn Muhammad better known as Al-Saffah (r. 750–754) was the first Abbasid caliph and founder of Abbasid Caliphal dynasty.
  • Abu Ja'far Abdallah ibn Muhammad better known as Al-Mansur was the second Abbasid caliph from 754 to 775.
  • Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi also known as Ibrahim ibn Muhammad was the Abbasid princess, singer and composer.
  • Ubaydallah ibn al-Mahdi, also known as Ubaydallah ibn Muhammad was the Abbasid princess and officer.
  • Ali ibn al-Mahdi, also known as Ali ibn Muhammad. was the son of Abbasid caliph al-Mahdi and his wife Rayta.
  • Musa al-Hadi also known as Musa ibn Muhammad was the fourth Abbasid caliph from 785 to 786.
  • Harun al-Rashid also known as Harun ibn Muhammad was the fifth Abbasid caliph from 786 to 809.
  • Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi was the son of Abbasid caliph al-Mahdi.
  • Isa ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi, was the youngest brother of Harun al-Rashid.
  • Musa ibn Muhammad al-Amin, was the son of Abbasid caliph al-Amin.
  • Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Amin was the second son of caliph Al-Amin.
  • Al-Wathiq (812–847), also known as Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mu'tasim was the Abbasid caliph from 842 to 847.
  • Al-Mutawakkil (822–861) also known as Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Mu'tasim was the tenth Abbasid caliph from 847 to 861.
  • Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Mu'tasim was the Abbasid prince and father of Al-Musta'in
  • Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Mu'tasim, was an Abbasid princess and the patron of Art and science.
  • Ali ibn Muhammad al-Mu'tasim
  • Abdallah ibn Muhammad al-Mu'tasim, one of the youngest sons of caliph al-Mu'tasim.
  • Abdallah ibn Muhammad better known as Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz or simply as Ibn al-Muʿtazz was an Arab prince and poet.
  • Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad al-Muhtadi, was the son of Abbasid caliph al-Muhtadi.
  • Abdallah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Qa'im, better known as Al-Muqtadi was the caliph of Baghdad during later Abbasid period.

=bint=

Teknonymy

{{Further|Abu Muhammad (disambiguation)}}

  • Hasan ibn Ali also known as Abu Muhammad Hasan ibn Ali, was the son of Ali ibn Abi Ṭalib, and caliph in 661.
  • Al-Hadi, also known as Abu Muhammad Musa al-Hadi, was the 4th Abbasid caliph.
  • Al-Muktafi also known as Abu Muhammad Ali, was the 17th Abbasid caliph from 902 – 13 August 908.
  • Al-Mustadi also known as Abu Muhammad Hasan ibn Yusuf al-Mustanjid was the Caliph in Baghdad from 1170 to 1180.

Fictional

Derived names

=Umm Muhammad=

  • Umm Muhammad bint Salih, was the wife of Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid.
  • Hubshiya also known as Umm Muhammad was the mother of Abbasid caliph Al-Muntasir
  • Qurb, also known as Umm Muhammad was the mother of al-Muhtadi.
  • Ashin, also known as Umm Muhammad was the mother of 12th-century caliph of Baghdad al-Muqtafi.

=Famous derived names=

Legality and restrictions

=China=

{{Further|Persecution of Uyghurs in China}}

In 2017 legislation made it illegal in China to give children names that the Chinese government deemed to "exaggerate religious fervor”.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/china-xinjiang-int-idUSKBN1710DD|title=China sets rules on beards, veils to combat extremism in Xinjiang|last1=Shepherd|first1=Christian|date=30 March 2017|work=Reuters|access-date=11 December 2019|last2=Blanchard|first2=Ben|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221060423/https://www.reuters.com/article/china-xinjiang-int-idUSKBN1710DD|archive-date=2019-12-21|url-status=live}} This prohibition included a ban on naming children Muhammad. The legislation was officially intended to prevent "religious extremism" among the country's Uighur minority, but may have been an act of persecution against the Uighur community.

= Pakistan =

The government of Pakistan forbids members of its Ahmadi community from naming their children Muhammad.[https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1015790/PAK_CPIN_Ahmadis.pdf Country Policy and Information Note Pakistan: Ahmadis][https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/171759.pdf Pakistan] Al Jazeera reported in 2021 that blasphemy charges had been filed against Ahmadis who wrote "Mohammed" on a wedding invitation in an unspecified amount of instances.{{Cite web |title=Amid bullets and 'blasphemy', Pakistan's Ahmadis struggle on |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/26/ahmadi-persecution-pakistan-blasphemy-islam |access-date=2022-06-12 |website=www.aljazeera.com}}

See also

Notes

{{reflist|group=n}}

References

{{wiktionary|Muhammad}}

{{reflist}}

{{given name|type=both}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muhammad}}

Category:Surnames of Sri Lankan origin

Category:Somali masculine given names

Category:Arabic-language surnames

Category:Arabic-language masculine given names

Category:Bosniak masculine given names

Category:Iranian masculine given names

Category:Bengali Muslim surnames

Category:Pakistani masculine given names

Category:Arab culture

Category:Turkish masculine given names

Category:Masculine given names

Мохьмад (Mokhmad), Магомад (Magomad), Магомед (Magomed), Мухьаммад (Mukhammad), Мухьаммед (Mukhammed)

Category:Surnames of Maldivian origin

Category:Maldivian-language surnames

bs:Muhammed