Muhammad was the most popular baby name in Galway, Ireland’s fourth-largest city, last year, the country’s government has confirmed.
A report released by Ireland’s Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Friday has revealed that “Muhammad” has risen to become the most popular name for newborn babies in one of the country’s major cities.
The statistic sees Ireland join the likes of France, England, Sweden, and many other European countries, which have all seen the popularity of the name surge amid record immigration from Islamic countries over the last two-to-three decades.
It now appears that Ireland is on the same path as its European neighbours as it pursues mass migration policies, with Muhammad now reported to be Galway City’s most popular baby name of 2022, beating out last year’s winners of Michael and Liam.
What’s more, this statistic only appears to be counting one spelling of the name, with variations such as “Mohammad” being registered as separate names by the CSO in the data they have made available to the general public.
British statistics bodies admit to pulling a similar trick to minimise the true rise in the name’s popularity.
The success of Muhammad in the popularity rankings puts Ireland in line with many of its European neighbours, with Sweden, France and Britain all seeing the name and its variations become extremely popular in many regions across the last number of years.
England and Wales in particular have seen the name become extremely popular, with the combination of Muhammad and its many spelling variations becoming the most popular name for newborn baby boys for the majority of the last ten years, including 2021.
Even accounting for spelling variations, Muhammad is nowhere near as popular in Ireland overall as of yet, with the name being eclipsed in popularity by the hundreds of Jacks, Noahs, and James born last year.
Irish-language names also remain extremely popular in the country, with Rían, Oisín, and Tadhg also remaining within the top ten rankings for last year, with Fionn in particular ranking as the second most popular throughout the country when its Anglicised variation “Finn” is taken into account.
There were slightly fewer Gaelic names within the girls’ top ten for last year, with Aoife being the only one to make the cut, though Caoimhe, Niamh, Roisín, and Saoirse do still remain extremely popular.
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