Mohammed is the most popular baby boy name in Israel, a new report by the Central Bureau of Statistics has revealed. There were 2,650 babies named Mohammed in 2014, according to the report published on December 27, 2015.
The annual survey, which is traditionally released at the end of the Gregorian calendar year, showed that the 10 most popular Jewish boys names were Noam (1,600 boys), Ori/Uri (written the same in Hebrew), David, Yosef, Eitan, Itay, Ariel, Daniel, Yonatan, and Moshe.
The report said a marked rise in the number of children named Eitan – from 10th place to 5th in popularity from the year before– was noted, citing Operation Protective Edge (in Hebrew, Mivtza Tzuk Eitan) as the reason.
Other names to gain popularity include Adele, Romi and Ovadia.
Noa (1,478 babies) was the most popular Jewish girls name again – and has been among the Top 10 for 15 years. The other popular names include Tamar, Shira, Maya, Yael, Adele, Talia, Abigail, Ayala and Sara.
The most popular Muslim boys names (other than Mohammed) were Ahmed, Yusuf, Omar, Abed, Adam, Ali, Ibrahim, Mahmoud, Amir, and Khaled.
Miryam, Jana, Lian, Malak, Aline, Lyn, and Nur were the most popular Muslim girls names.
“The most common name among those born in 2014 was Mohammed,” the CBS reports. “This name was very common among the population because it is given to one out of every seven Muslim boys. In comparison, the most common names among Jews and Muslim girls were given to one out of 40 children.”
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