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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Most popular bay names in the UK - Is Noah particularly religious?

40 replies

mids2019 · 06/12/2024 06:41

It looks like Mohammed and Noah are the two most popular names in the UK. It got me thinking whether baby names are really embedded in our particular background, culture and race?

I don't know to what extent people pick names like Matthew or Mark for particularly religious religions but it would seem Mohammed is popular because of its time to Islam and there are very specific religious reasons for its pipularity.

I was wondering do those of faith select baby names outside their religous scope?

Do people with no faith consider any refligous origin when naming?

Is it important to maintain your culture and ancestral ties by using names familiar from different parts of the world?

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Nineandtwenty · 06/12/2024 07:07

mids2019 · 06/12/2024 07:02

Joshua or Josh springs to mind as well. The list is endless Adam, Eve, Isaac etc.etc. I would be intrigued to know what some biblical names fell out of popularity with time (sorry Judas!) as there may be obscure social and religious reasons for this. I note Jessie is not a popular name within European countries as this is a little blsphemic?

Jessie has never been popular in the UK I think more because it was used as an insult (you big Jessie). It's certainly mentioned on MN a lot if the name is ever brought up.

Original poster
mids2019 · 06/12/2024 07:03

Surely the history of such names i?s bound to the fact for centuries we were much more relgous as a society?

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Original poster
mids2019 · 06/12/2024 07:02

Joshua or Josh springs to mind as well. The list is endless Adam, Eve, Isaac etc.etc. I would be intrigued to know what some biblical names fell out of popularity with time (sorry Judas!) as there may be obscure social and religious reasons for this. I note Jessie is not a popular name within European countries as this is a little blsphemic?

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Strawberrycheesecake7 · 06/12/2024 07:01

I have a Matthew and neither me or his dad are at all religious. We love biblical names because they’ve been used for so long and have such a rich history. In my opinion they are much better than names that are trendy for just a few years and then stop being used as much.

110APiccadilly · 06/12/2024 06:59

It is funny how religious names suddenly get popular generally. As PP said, when I was growing up, you'd only ever meet a Noah from a religious family, now it's very popular with non religious people. I'd say the same thing's happened to Caleb.

Original poster
mids2019 · 06/12/2024 06:58

It's strange because with a connection to religion people are averse to saying a name is 'nice' or something twee like that because obviously the name is connectected to a religion which is profound in their identity.

I suppose a lot of old testament names just reflect our Abrahamic religous roots for part of our community.

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LittleRedRidingHoody · 06/12/2024 06:56

All the Noah's I know are from very unreligious families! Weird to me because growing up it wasn't popular at all secularly, but there were a few Noah's at the church I went to and they hated their names as it was rare/pointed to the fact they were Christian's in school etc.

Mohammed definitely is, I think because it's common to set it as a first name and have a second/middle name that is actually used as an identifier.

AllFours · 06/12/2024 06:54

The name Noah became ultra trendy around 12 years ago, which overshadowed its biblical roots.

Original poster
mids2019 · 06/12/2024 06:54

Thinking about baby naming does get determined by ancestry to a great extent and there are relatively few that step out of their naming silos of you like. As someone says it would be strange to see a non Muslim named Mohammed or a non Indian called Raj.

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Canalboat · 06/12/2024 06:54

Noah is just a trendy name now, I wouldn’t assume any religiosity.

Original poster
mids2019 · 06/12/2024 06:51

Old testament names have a particularly Victorian ring to me ....Perhaps it's something to do with my daughter reading a Christmas carol with Ebeneezer and Jacob.

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Original poster
mids2019 · 06/12/2024 06:49

Obscure old testament prophets seem to go indicate a particular religious bent? I guess atheists pick from a wide range of potential names while those of faith are more restricted? I think this may explain Mohammed being the number one name in the UK as there may be a limited pool of Islamic names to choose.

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BoleynMemories13 · 06/12/2024 06:48

I'm sure many devout Christians do specifically opt for a biblical name, but many biblical names are now trendy choices for anyone, regardless of religion. Names like Noah, Isaac, Jude, Reuben, Ezra, Caleb etc are all very popular right now and I know of plenty whose parents aren't religious in the slightest.

Whereas I would be surprised to hear Muhammed used by a non-Muslim family. The name is too seeped in cultural/religious meaning. Same goes for a lot of Islamic names.

SemperIdem · 06/12/2024 06:45

I would assume many parents of Noah’s aren’t religious. Whereas I would assume, for example, all parents of Ezekiel’s are.

I can’t really explain why. Perhaps I associate less commonly heard Biblical names with faith as opposed to general cultural exposure?

CheeseTime · 06/12/2024 06:44

Well. People like traditional names and traditionally most of us used to be religious.
My son has a biblical name but I am a massive atheist!
I would suspect the vast majority of Mohammeds have religious parents and most parents of Noahs don’t.

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