Mohammad Rises to Most Popular Baby Name in Israel

Mohammad was the most popular name overall given to newborns in Israel in 2020, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reported this week.

The name was given to 2,394 Israeli-Arab babies in 2020. Yosef or Yusef, a name given to both Muslims and Jews, came in second with 1,176 Jewish boys and 656 Muslim boys receiving it.

Director of monitoring group U.N. Watch and pro-Israel activist Hillel Neuer took a jab at pro-Palestinian activists who often accuse Israel of killing Arab Muslims.

“That’s odd, it’s almost like the opposite of ‘Israel is committing a genocide against its Muslims,’” he quipped on Twitter.

That’s odd, it’s almost like the opposite of “Israel is committing a genocide against its Muslims.”https://t.co/QwPA998Ihe

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) December 21, 2021

The third most popular name following Mohammad was the unisex Ariel, with 1,223 Jewish boys and 579 Jewish girls given the name.

Ahmad and Adam were also rising in popularity among Muslim boys.

The most popular girl’s name among Muslims was Maryam.

Among Jewish newborn girls, the most popular names were Tamar and Maya, followed by Abigail, Noa, Sarah, Ayalah, Adele, Yael, Shira and Esther.

Israeli-Arab Christians opted for George, Charbel, Jude, Niel, Elias, and Liam for boys and Maria, Lin, Sama, Celine and Leah for girls.

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