Muhammad and Maya top list of Israeli newborn’s names in 2020

The most popular name given to newborns in Israel during 2020 was Muhammad, according to figures released Tuesday by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).

The Muslim boy’s name was given to 2,394 babies in 2020, cementing its perennial place as the country’s most popular name. Maya was announced as the most popular name overall for girls with a tally of 1,133.

Tamar was crowned as the most popular for Jewish girls for the fourth year running, with 1,116 babies given the name. Though Maya is predominantly found among the Jewish population, enough non-Jews also used the name to drop it below Tamar on the Jewish list.

Abigail was the third most popular Jewish girl’s name, after Maya. Noa, previously the third most popular name, dropped to fourth.

Among Jewish boys, David topped the list (1,536), followed by Lavi (1,297) and then Ariel.

Though the most popular boy’s name in the Muslim community, Muhammad has seen a slight decline, the CBS said. The name was followed in popularity by Ahmed and Adam. The most popular girl’s name among Muslims was Maryam.

The town of Ofakim most strongly reflected the trends among the Jewish population, with 4.7 percent of newborn boys named David and 4.2% of the Jewish girls named Tamar in 2020.