THE most popular baby names this year have been revealed with Muhammad making the top ten in a coveted list for the first time in the US.
According to BabyCenter's list of 100 most popular baby names for girls and boys in America, Sophia is still at the top for girls while Liam is the No.1 boy's name.
Although the nation's favorite monikers have more or less remained the same since 2018, there has been a rise in Arabic names in 2019.
This year, Muhammad and Aaliyah have replaced Mason and Layla placing tenth on the coveted list.
In 2018 and 2017, Muhammad came in at No.14 on BabyCenter's list with a 29 percent jump in popularity this year.
BabyCenter combines names that sound the same but vary in spelling to get a more accurate measure of its popularity (e.g. Sophia and Sofia).
The parenting and pregnancy website compiled the names of babies born to around 600,000 registered U.S. users in 2019.
The Social Security Administration also makes a list, which pulls the names of all the babies born in the U.S.
The independent agency treats each spelling as a different name which differs from BabyCenter's analysis.
Muhammad went from No. 620 in 2000 to No. 345 in 2018, according to Social Security Administration's data.
If they combined different spellings (e.g. Mohammad, Mohammed and Muhammad) in its count, the name would rank higher still.
The Independent estimates that Muhammad is the most popular name globally, "given to an estimated 150 million men and boys."
"Muhammad's been rising on BabyCenter top baby name lists around the world," said BabyCenter's Global Editor In Chief Linda Murray.
Murray said they knew the name would "soon break into the U.S. top 10" in a press statement.
"Muslim families often choose Muhammad for firstborn sons to honor the prophet and bring blessings to the child," she added.
How high up on the list is "Margo"?
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