Europe’s growing Muslim population is revealing itself in surprising ways, with “Muhammed” coming in third place in most popular male baby names in Austria for 2017.
The Austrian daily Kronen Zeitung announced the statistics on 2017 male baby names Friday, with “Muhammed” moving up into third place, just behind the traditional boys’ names of “Alexander” and “Maximilian.”
For statistical purposes, the different spellings of the same name were grouped together, so Muhamed, Muhammet, Mohamad, Muhammad and Muhammad were all considered the same name, as were Elias, Elijah and Eliyas.
For girls’ names, Sophia, Sara and Anna are the most popular, according to statistics released by the evaluation of Municipal Department 23.
The most common baby names are an indicator of cultural change, the newspaper explained.
In 1968, for instance, the most common girls’ names were Sabine, Claudia and Petra, and the most common boys’ names were Thomas, Andreas and Christian. In the post-war years, Franz, Peter and Karl topped the list of boys’ names, while Christine, Brigitte and Elisabeth were the most popular girls’ names.
Great Britain’s Muslim population has grown so much that Muhammad has topped the list of names for newborn baby boys in the whole of England and Wales every year since 2011, when slight variations in spelling are taken into account.
In Austria the news is especially significant, given the multi-secular history of enmity between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and that of the Ottoman Turks.
In September 2016, the Catholic Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, declared that the ultimate aim of many Muslims is the conquest of Europe.
“Europe is on the verge of forfeiting its Christian heritage,” Schönborn said, adding that this loss is “not only economic, but above all human and religious.”
“Will there be an Islamic conquest of Europe?” the Cardinal asked during a homily in Saint Stephen’s cathedral church. “Many Muslims want that and say: ‘Europe is finished,’” he said.
The Cardinal’s statements held even greater significance since they came on the celebration of the Catholic feast of the “Holy Name of Mary,” which was instituted in gratitude for the liberation of Vienna from the Ottoman Turks.
The Battle of Vienna, between the allied Christian forces and 90,000 Islamic invaders, was waged on September 11 and 12, 1683, and marked the turning point in Europe’s 300-year struggle against Islam.
Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter Follow @tdwilliamsrome
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