00:00The name Mohammed has once again topped the list of most popular baby names in Europe.
00:04According to a daily mail analysis, recent government statistics in Austria show that
00:07approximately 1 in every 200 newborn boys now receives these names.
00:12Experts say the figure may be higher when other spellings of the prophet's name,
00:16which are believed to have over 20 variations, are taken into account.
00:19The report notes a 732% rise in Austria, 372% rise in Ireland,
00:24a 127% rise in France and a 13% increase in the Netherlands.
00:28In England, the name overtook traditional favourites like Noah, Oliver, Arthur, Leo and George.
00:34According to the Office for National Statistics, Mohammed isn't a new arrival to the British name charts.
00:39The name first appeared in the UK's top 100 back in 1924.
00:42It has featured in the top 100 every decade since the 1920s, showing a consistent rise.
00:47As per this BBC report, one major factor was the 1960s construction of the Mangala Dam in Pakistan's Meirpur district,
00:53which displaced over 100,000 people.
00:54The British government, needing workers for its post-war industrial boom,
00:58offered permits for these Meirpuris to work in UK factories.
01:01Today, many Muslims of Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Indian roots consider it a blessing to name a child after the prophet.
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