Mohammed overtakes George in list of most popular names. The name Muhammad wins the prize for the world's most common name. It derives from the Arabic root "h-m-d" and means "praiseworthy one." It's often used, much like John Doe, to indicate someone whose name is unknown, or in combination with another giver name. At least 15 million people worldwide are named Mohammad.
Because it is transliterated from the Arabic, Muhammad has a multitude of spellings, depending on the country of origin. The variation MOhammed is found in North Africa. Mohammad is used in Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Muhammed and Mohamed are familiar spellings in the Arab world. The variations are virtually endless: Mohamet, Muhamed, Mohamad, Mahammed, Mohammod, Mahamed, Muhammod, Muhamad, Mohammed, Mohamud and Mohammud. Muhammad translated into other languge becomes Mehmet (Turkey, Albania), Maxamed (Somalia) and so on.
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