Arabic baby names surge in UK popularity in 2014

Mohammad, Nur and Maryam are some of the most common baby names in the UK today, researchers found, indicating a surge in popularity of Arabic names among the British.

For years, Mohammad was popular in the UK, but according to the BabyCenter website, the Arabic name landed the title of most common name in the UK only this year, the Daily Mail reported.

“With the increase of Arabic names, the top 100 shows the ever-increasing diversity of the UK today,” Sarah Redshaw the managing editor for BabyCentre told the British daily.

Nur and Maryam were also found to be two of the most popular names of 2014, ranking in the top 50.

Additionally, Omar, Ali and Ibrahim also landed in the top 100 names.

Reshaw said pop culture has been a major factor behind the surge of certain names.

For example, Cruz, one of David and Victoria Beckham’s children was up 400 per cent this year.

Hit series also influenced parents’ decisions. Emilia came in at number 53, an increase BabyCenter attributes to Emilia Clarke, an actress on popular TV series Games of Thrones.

However, “Parents are wary of names associated with celebrities who exhibit bad behavior, the controversial pop singer Miley Cyrus being a prime example,” Redshaw told the Daily Mail.