boys' name ★ peaked 2025

Muhammad

Meaning praised, commendable, laudable Gender Boy Rank 2025 #239 Trend ↑ Rising 43%

Transliteration of Arabic مُحَمَّد (muḥammad, “praised, commendable, laudable”), the passive participle of حَمَّدَ (ḥammada, “to praise, commend, laud, extol”).

Rank 2025
#239
among boys · ↑7 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,473
named Muhammad · +2% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,160
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2025
1,473 babies
All-time total
21,962
#794 all-time among boys
First recorded
1929
in Social Security records

Muhammad popularity over time

21,962 babies have been named Muhammad since 1929, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.250.50.75118801900192019401960198020002020Peak 2025Boys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Boys Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – –
1890s – – – –
1900s – – – –
1910s – – – –
1920s 5 1 – #4,367
1930s – – – –
1940s 10 1 – #3,846
1950s – – – –
1960s 53 5 – #2,568
1970s 524 52 +889% #841
1980s 1,023 102 +95% #790
1990s 1,727 173 +69% #699
2000s 3,357 336 +94% #591
2010s 7,801 780 +132% #337
2020s (to 2025) 7,462 1,244 +59% #239

Where Muhammad is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 1,566 0.92 #227
2027 1,649 0.97 #215
2028 1,723 1.01 #205
2029 1,789 1.05 #198
2030 1,847 1.08 #195

Where Muhammad is most popular

Boys named Muhammad per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.741 per 1,000. Strongest in New York, Maryland, and Delaware.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Muhammad born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
New York 1,627 3.76 +407%
Maryland 238 2.00 +169%
Delaware 29 1.91 +158%
New Jersey 331 1.64 +122%
Virginia 301 1.59 +114%
Illinois 394 1.54 +108%
Pennsylvania 381 1.43 +94%
Connecticut 73 1.08 +46%
Ohio 233 0.879 +19%
Michigan 178 0.869 +17%
California 647 0.708 ≈ national
Georgia 161 0.636 -14%
Washington 103 0.630 -15%
Minnesota 74 0.603 -19%
Massachusetts 80 0.582 -21%
Texas 507 0.575 -22%
Indiana 90 0.561 -24%
North Carolina 135 0.529 -29%
Missouri 65 0.469 -37%
Oklahoma 38 0.430 -42%
Florida 180 0.380 -49%
Kentucky 38 0.379 -49%
Tennessee 68 0.377 -49%
Rhode Island 6 0.368 -50%
District of Columbia 5 0.339 -54%
Wisconsin 39 0.329 -56%
Nebraska 13 0.299 -60%
Colorado 38 0.294 -60%
North Dakota 5 0.293 -60%
Iowa 18 0.261 -65%
Arkansas 16 0.253 -66%
South Carolina 22 0.213 -71%
Nevada 12 0.210 -72%
Arizona 31 0.189 -74%
Louisiana 18 0.176 -76%
Oregon 5 0.066 -91%
Alabama 7 0.064 -91%
Alaska – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Muhammad

Muhammad is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #239 in 2025 with 1,473 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1929, 21,962 American babies have been named Muhammad. Its peak came in 2025, when 1,473 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Muhammad stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Muhammad?

The median living Muhammad is about 9 years old; half are between 4 and 18. An estimated 22 thousand people named Muhammad are alive in the United States today.

median 9 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Muhammad year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Boys Boys rank
2025 1,473 #239
2024 1,445 #246
2023 1,241 #272
2022 1,155 #298
2021 1,085 #307
2020 1,063 #310
2019 996 #337
2018 962 #346
2017 898 #369
2016 958 #352
2015 882 #365
2014 774 #400
2013 694 #423
2012 582 #469
2011 545 #482
2010 510 #506
2009 430 #601
2008 403 #616
2007 330 #705
2006 366 #640
2005 299 #691
2004 296 #681
2003 306 #652
2002 284 #660
2001 339 #591
2000 304 #618
1995 191 #778
1990 106 #1,031
1985 100 #909
1980 85 #979
1975 55 #1,142
1970 22 #1,917
1965 – –
1960 – –
1955 – –
1950 – –
1945 – –
1940 – –
1935 – –
1930 – –
1925 – –
1920 – –
1915 – –
1910 – –
1905 – –
1900 – –
1895 – –
1890 – –
1885 – –
1880 – –

Famous people named Muhammad

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali American boxer and activist (1942–2016) Contemporary
  2. 2 Muhammad Muhammad Founder of Islam (c. 570–632) Medieval
  3. 3 Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah Founder and 1st Governor-General of Pakistan (1876–1948) 19th century
  4. 4 Muhammad Yunus Muhammad Yunus Bangladeshi economist and statesman (born 1940) Contemporary
  5. 5 Muhammad Ali of Egypt Muhammad Ali of Egypt Ruler of Egypt from 1805 to 1848 1769–1849 · 18th century
  6. 6 Muhammad Iqbal Muhammad Iqbal Islamic philosopher and poet (1877–1938) 19th century
  7. 7 Muhammad al-Mahdi Muhammad al-Mahdi Twelfth and last of the Twelve Shia Imams 869–941 · Medieval
  8. 8 Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Saudi Arabian Islamic scholar, jurist, and eponym of Islam (1703–1792) 18th century
  9. 9 Muhammad of Ghor Politician, Afghanistan 1160–1206 · Medieval
  10. 10 Muhammad al-Bukhari Muhammad al-Bukhari Islamic hadith scholar (810–870) Medieval
  11. 11 Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq 6th President of Pakistan from 1978 to 1988 1924–1988 · Contemporary
  12. 12 Muhammad bin Tughluq Politician, Pakistan 1290–1351 · Medieval
  13. 13 Muhammad Ahmad Muhammad Ahmad Sudanese religious and political leader (1843–1885) 1844–1885 · 19th century
  14. 14 Muhammad al-Baqir Muhammad al-Baqir Fifth of the Twelve Shia Imams 677–733 · Medieval
  15. 15 Muhammad bin Saud Founder of the Emirate of Diriyah and the Al Saud dynasty (1687–1765) 1710–1765 · 18th century
  16. 16 Muhammad XII of Granada 23rd Nasrid emir of Granada (r. 1485–86) 1459–1532 · Medieval
  17. 17 Muhammad al-Idrisi Muhammad al-Idrisi Muslim geographer (1100–1165) Medieval
  18. 18 Muhammad II of Khwarazm Muhammad II of Khwarazm Khwarazm Shah 1169–1220 · Medieval
  19. 19 Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr Companion, Saudi Arabia 631–658 · Medieval
  20. 20 Muhammad al-Jawad Muhammad al-Jawad Ninth of the Twelve Shia Imams (811–835) Medieval

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Muhammad, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Muhammad?

The median living Muhammad is about 9 years old. Half of all living Muhammads are between 4 and 18 years old.

How many people named Muhammad are alive today?

An estimated 22 thousand people named Muhammad are alive in the United States, based on 21,962 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Muhammad mean?

Transliteration of Arabic مُحَمَّد (muḥammad, “praised, commendable, laudable”), the passive participle of حَمَّدَ (ḥammada, “to praise, commend, laud, extol”).

How popular is the name Muhammad in 2025?

Muhammad ranked #239 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,473 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Muhammad?

21,962 babies have been named Muhammad in the United States since 1929, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Muhammad most popular?

Muhammad peaked in 2025, when 1,473 newborns received the name.

Is Muhammad a boy or girl name?

Muhammad is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Muhammad rising or falling?

Muhammad is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Muhammad become more popular?

Muhammad is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,847 boys named Muhammad in 2030, which would rank around #195. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Muhammad?

Well-known people named Muhammad include Muhammad Ali (boxer), Muhammad (religious figure), Muhammad Ali Jinnah (politician).

Names like Muhammad

Names that sound and feel close to Muhammad: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Muhammad with similar names → More names starting with M →