Mohammed: meaning “praiseworthy”, origin & popularity

Meaning & origin

What it means

Mohammed goes back to Arabic مُحَمَّد, meaning “praiseworthy.”

Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Where it comes from

An origin associated with this spelling is Arabic.

How it developed

From Arabic مُحَمَّد.

Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1922. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.

From dated birth records

Mohammed through the years

Babies since 1880: 16,225; 16,225 boys · 0 girls
Most popular year: 2014; 566 babies
2025: 486; #595 for boys
2021–25 vs 2016–20: −1%; Steady

Mohammed in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1922–2025, per million boys born. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

Where it’s given

Most at home inMichigan, New York, Illinois

FewerMore, relative to births Not published

2025 births by state of birth. Tiles are equal-sized so small states stay visible. Highest rates: Michigan (47), New York (90), Illinois (44), Pennsylvania (23), Texas (43).

By the numbers

In 2025, this name appeared in 486 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 595 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 0.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 566 in 2014. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (90). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 48,042 as a first name in 2020; 23,378 as a surname in 2020.

From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.

Mohammed’s family of names

In English usage, Mohammed has a diminutive in Mo. In French usage, Mohammed shares an earlier linguistic root with MAMADOU. In Norwegian Bokmål usage, Mohammed has a related form in Mohammad.

Walk Mohammed’s family in the name graph

Around the world

Mohammed has relatives in 46 languages. Lines run from its Arabic roots to each of them.

58 related names in 46 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.

Each dot marks where a language is rooted, not where people with the name live today. Bigger dots hold more names. Dots on the border stand for languages further away. Language locations from Glottolog (CC BY 4.0); map from Natural Earth.

Nicknames & forms 30

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

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Spellings & scripts 1

The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.

Μοχάμεντin another script · Greek

Across languages 39

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

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People named Mohammed

Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.

Similar names

If you love Mohammed, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Arabic · Modern

Sibling ideas

Names that share Mohammed’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Mohammed

A sister for Mohammed

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Mohammed

Meaning & origin

What it means

Where it comes from

How it developed

The story

Mohammed through the years

Where it’s given

By the numbers

Mohammed’s family of names

Around the world

Nicknames & forms 30

Spellings & scripts 1

Across languages 39

People named Mohammed

Similar names

Murad

Hamad

Ali

Omar

Mahamadou

Youssef

Ameer

Mocammad

Sibling ideas

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