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When many Americans hear the name Muhammad, their minds are filled with thoughts of "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." Muhammad Ali, is possibly the most famous Muhammad in the United States. Many expectant mothers looking through baby name books will learn that Muhammad is the most popular name in the world.

The name Muhammad is of Arabic decent and means "praised one". There are many variations of the spelling of this name. While one is no more correct than the other, many people prefer the spelling, "Muhammad". Some variations include: Mohammad, Mohammed, Mohamed, Muhammed, Mahomet, and Maxamed.

What makes this name so popular? No one can give an exact answer. In Arab countries it seems that if someone does not know the correct name of a person, they refer to them as Muhammad. In England, last year, the name Muhammad, outranked the ever popular name George in baby names. Many analysts believe this is a sign of ethnic diversity in the United Kingdom. Many Muslims believe that the name Muhammad did not exist before the prophet Muhammad, though there are written accounts of the name being used earlier.

The name Muhammad is generally thought of as a masculine name. However, throughout history, there have been a few women who share the name. Other than the famous prophet, there are many famous and important people throughout history who share the name Muhammad:

Muhammad Naguib, first President of the Republic of Egypt, in 1953.

Mohammad Hossein Shahriar, Iranian poet, writing in Persian and Azerbaijani

Muhammad Ali Bogra,Prime Minister of Pakistan from 19531955

Mehmet Shehu,general and politician in the communist Albanian Party of Labour

Mohammed Zahir Shah,the last King of Afghanistan from 1933 to 1973

Mohamed Anwar el-Sadat,Egyptian politician and President from 1970 to 1981

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi,the second and last Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 until 1979

Mohamed Siad Barre,self-proclaimed socialist president of Somalia from 1969 to 1991

Mohammed Dib,probably Algeria's most prolific and well-known writer.

General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq,ruled Pakistan from 1977 to 1988 under martial law

Mohammed VI of Morocco,King of Morocco. Full name is Mohammed Ben Al-Hassan. He ascended to the throne in 1999.

Mohammed Rafi,Indian Bollywood playback singer

Mohamed al-Fayed,Egyptian-born, Swiss-based millionaire.

Muhammad Rafiq Tarar,President of Pakistan from 19982001

Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas,prominent contemporary Muslim philosopher and thinker from Malaysia

Ayatollah Sayed Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim,was the foremost Shia Muslim leader in Iraq until his assassination in a terrorist bombing.

Ayatollah Mohammad Va'ez Abaee-Khorasani,Iranian cleric and reformist politician

Muhammad Ali,American heavyweight boxing champion

Mohamed ElBaradei,Director General of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency
Mohammad Khatami,the President of Iran since 1997 to 2005

Mohammad Najibullah,President of Afghanistan from 1987 to 1992. He was assassinated in 1996.

Mohamed Abdelaziz,exiled president of Western Sahara since 1982

Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri,Muslim scholar, professor, poet and politician

Dwight Muhammad Qawi, born Dwight Braxton former world boxing champion

Mohamed Mounir,Egyptian musician and actor, Mullah Mohammed Omar,

Afghanistan's Talibani de facto Head of State from 19962001

Abd al-rahman Muhammad Ahmed Abd al-Karim, British actor

Mohammad Ashraful,Bangladeshi cricketer

Muhammed Suimez,German musician

The above Muhammad's are only those who were famous or popular during the 20th and 21st century.

Learn more about this author, Angela Russell.
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