Most popular UK boy's names. Does this matter?

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported yesterday that Oliver was the most popular boy's name in the UK last year. The report was accompanied by news of a rise in names from characters in the Game of Thrones thing and the media lapped this up.

This was the BBC's list:

As Al Murray might say 'All good British names'.

The ONS reported that 6,649 boys born in the UK last year were named Oliver. That's all good then. What was not reported, indeed absolutely no mention was made of this, is that if one adds up the three different derivatives of the name Mohammed (Mohammed, Mohamad and Muhammed - and there are other derivatives that I'm not including), the figure adds up to 7,240.

So, in fact the name that is pronouced (but not necessarily spelled) 'Mohammed' was the most popular name for boys in the UK last year. As it was in 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009.

Is this a problem? Absolutely not. It is a predominantly Muslim name but if British citizens choose to call their kids Mohammed what concern should that be of ours?

I do however have a small nagging concern that a community which represents 4.8% of the UK population (2.7 million people) has effectively topped the boy's name league for the last 5 or 6 years when this is viewed alongside the oft-repeated mantra of extreme Muslims that they will become the majority in our land by 2050 (which ONS statistics support) and, so they say, will then result in the imposition of Shar'ia law in the UK.

Which is a real concern, if it is true.

Because it is not a legal/social system that we (the current majority) want to see in the UK and it is not a legal system that has created modern, free, fair and progressive societies where it is implemented elsewhere in the world. Quite the opposite.


What this does do is raise, once again, the issue of whether our Muslim population are looking to assimilate into UK society or to import their laws and way of life into their new homeland. I personally am not convinced that we have seen enough evidence that the former proposition is correct and that the latter concern is unfounded. I still think, as I have blogged endlessly before now, that we do need to ask this question of our Muslim neighbours.

I think it is a question that 'moderate Muslims' should welcome as a way of declaring their allegiance and putting our concerns to rest once and for all. I think we're one mindless act of terrorism in the UK away from many people demanding that the question is asked. I think that this is an inevitable scenario given the state of the world and the number of times that (we are told) a new atrocity has been averted by our security forces.

Mr Farage has talked about a 5th column within our society. I fervently hope he is wrong about this, but I'm not certain that he is.

The 'migrants' gathering in Calais seem to be more young men of military age than desperate families. It doesn't take too much imagination to see this as more than just economic migration, especially given what is happening in Syria and Iraq at this time.

I hope I'm wrong.

What I am not wrong about is the fact that the BBC and others are deliberately hiding the fact that Mohammed has been the most popular boy's name in the UK for the last 5 or 6 years. Just as it has been hiding the nationwide problem of grooming gangs, FGM, child brides, honour killings etc.

One has to wonder why this is being done?

Thanks for reading.