# Why is the name "Muhammad" so popular? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 20, 2015, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-name-muhammad-so-popular/713155 "2015-02-20T01:52:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-name-muhammad-so-popular/713155/41 "2015-02-25T13:31:43Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Nobody, on the other hand, has ever worshiped some random guy’s name. Eh…I’m not sure that’s accurate. > [@jz78817](#): > > as **Raguleader** said, if you know anyone named Josh or Joshua, they’re named after Jesus. Joshua descends from the Hebrew _Yeshua._ Nope. Joshua and Yeshua are both forms of the name Yehoshuah (or Yĕhôshúa). But boys named Joshua (in English) are named after the successor of Moses. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-name-muhammad-so-popular/713155/42 "2015-02-25T13:34:22Z")
This is a wild guess, but I get the impression that everyone and his brother being named Muhammad in Pakistan brings up the numbers. Apparently using names like Muhammad and Shaikh as ethno-religious markers–with the actual distinguishing personal name one goes by being an additional given name–became really common in parts of southern Asia. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2015, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-name-muhammad-so-popular/713155/43 "2015-02-25T13:56:04Z")
**CairoCarol** , maybe this example will help clarify what you have been saying. I have a friend whose name is Primo. He is Italian. Primo is the first-born child of his parents. In the US, many people can recognise that Primo means first, others can look it up or be told that it means first. But none of those things quite equate to the fact that, to his Italian parents, naming their son Primo was exactly like someone in the US naming their son “First”. And it is also a fact that most first names in English are not words in English that mean the same things as their name forms. I just made this worse, didn’t I? ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-name-muhammad-so-popular/713155/44 "2015-02-26T02:24:52Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Well, I can’t speak for the OP, but I thought it was a valid question, one I’ve wondered about, but I have no anti-Islam bias. > > So this thread has informed me of things I didn’t know. Well unlearn them because I hate Muslims and only seek to enlighten in the ever-dogged pursuit of hatred and bigotry. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2015, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-name-muhammad-so-popular/713155/45 "2015-02-26T03:40:04Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > Well unlearn them because I hate Muslims and only seek to enlighten in the ever-dogged pursuit of hatred and bigotry. Did… did you leave your computer logged in near a prankster? ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2015, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-name-muhammad-so-popular/713155/46 "2015-02-27T00:44:27Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > Well unlearn them because I hate Muslims and only seek to enlighten in the ever-dogged pursuit of hatred and bigotry. I know you meant that as a whoosh, but it has the ring of truth even if you don’t see it that way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-name-muhammad-so-popular/713155.md?page=2)