Mohammed most popular baby name in Israel in 2015

The most popular baby name in Israel in 2015, among some 2,650 newborns, was Mohammed, according to a report released by the Central Bureau of Statistics on Sunday.

The most popular Jewish name for a boy, and the second most popular name overall, in 2015 was Noam, with some 1,600 boys (and 400 girls) given this name.  Also making the list of the top 10 most popular names was Ori/Uri, David, Yosef, Eitan, Itay, Ariel, Daniel, Yonatan, and Moshe.

The most popular Jewish name for a girl was Noa – which has remained one of the most popular names for a girl for the past 15 years. Also among the most popular names: Tamar, Shira, Maya, Yael, Adele, Talia, Avigail, Ayala and Sara.

The report also broke down the most popular baby names for a girl by city:  In Jerusalem the most popular baby name for a girl was Sara while in Tel Aviv and in Haifa the most popular name was Maya. In Bnei Brak the most popular name for a girl was Esther while in Netanya, Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Beersheba the most popular name was Adele.

The report also found that one in every five Muslim boys is named Mohammed or Ahmed (14.5% and 5.4% of newborns, respectively).  Also making the top ten list for most popular Muslim baby boy names: Yosef, Omar, Abed, Adam, Ali, Ibrahim, Mahmoud, Amir, and Khaled.

The most popular name among Muslim girls was Miryam, followed by Jana, Lian, Malak, Aline, Lyn, and Nur.