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Muhammad was the disenfranchised son of a poor clan who, after receiving massages from God, founded one of the worlds leading religions. While doing so, he was cast out of his clan and forced to flee Mecca.

In the early years of his new religion, Muhammad tried to include Jews. However, tribal tensions in Mecca caused the Jews to reject this new religion. When Muhammad, while praying, was given a verse saying true believers only prayed to Mecca, the break with Judaism became final.

The name Muhammad has become very popular. It is listed as the second most popular name in England. The name was shared by 5,991 boys last year. This is in part to the desire, as stated by Muhammad Anwar, Professor of Ethnic Relations at Warwick University, of Muslim parents to show a link to their religion or with the Prophet.

The spelling Mohammed is officially number 23 on the list provided by the Office for National Statistics, but that moves up to number 2 once all 14 spellings are considered. It is predicted that the name will reach number 1 by the end of the year if it's popularity continues. The spellings of the name, at least in Britain, depends on where the family is from and the different variations in pronunciation.

Muhammad, meaning "one who is praiseworthy" is given to boys as an honorary prefix to their commonly known name. Some consider it the most common name in the world, though there is no evidence to prove this claim.
It seems that many parents believe that naming their son Muhammad will effect their child's personality and future characteristics. While they may not understand the history of the Prophet and the name, they still want to be recognized as one of his followers.

In Arab countries, the Muhammad is used when you don't know someone's name. On the sub-continent it is used either before or after another name. While in the U.K. it is about translating the sound of the Arabic into English. A non-Arab Muslim uses the ending -ed, while an Arab Muslim uses -ad.

Muslims account for 3 per cent of the British population, roughly 1.5 million people. The Muslim birthrate, however, is three times higher than that of non-Muslims.

As stated previously there are 14 different spellings of the name Muhammad. These include:
Mohammed 2,833
Muhammad 1,422
Muhammad 920
Muhammed 358
Mohamed 354
Mohamad 29
Mahammed 18
Mohammod 13
Mahamed 12
Muhammod 9
Muhamad 7
Mohmmed 6
Mohamud 5
Mohammud 5

Reasons for the variants is spelling vary from the result of phonetic translations by Muslims who moved abroad to personal preference of the parents. Whatever the reason, it is a very popular name showing no signs of losing that popularity.

Learn more about this author, Dorothy Jo Bourbeau.
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