Baby names

I blogged this morning about the National Statistics list on most popular boys names and the way that the BBC was covering it being at odds with what The Times had predicted in June. Several comments were posted on this blog to the effect that the relatively low ranking of Mahammed on the official list was due to each of the different spellings of the name being shown separately; it appears that you were all right.

The Telegraph reports that "In a reflection of the increasing influence of Islam, figures released yesterday showed the most popular spelling of the name - Mohammed - had climbed five places to 17th in the annual list of top baby names. However, when the seven other spellings of the name are taken into account, the total comes to 6,347 babies, making it the second most popular name of the year - up from 5,936 last year. Although Jack topped the list with 6,772 babies, that figure fell 156 on last year, meaning if the trends were repeated next year, Mohammed and its variant spellings would be the most popular choice in England and Wales. The other spellings are Muhammad, Mohammad, Muhammed, Mohamed, Mohamad, Muhamed and Mohammod."


I wonder why the BBC is so keen not to report this fact. Who or what are they trying to protect?


Interestingly(?) the blogspot spell checker likes Muhammad, Mohammad and Mohamed but not Mohammed, Mahammed, Muhammed, Mohamad, Muhamed and Mohammod.