Muhammad enters top 10 baby boy names in Ontario, hits number 1 in Toronto

The Government of Ontario’s official Newsroom reported that Olivia remained the most popular baby name for girls in 2024, while Noah again topped the list for boys, continuing a multiyear streak at number one. The boys' list was otherwise dominated by traditional European names, including Liam, Theodore, Oliver, Jack, Henry, Benjamin, and Lucas. However, Muhammad is now ranked ninth overall.

According to Toronto Today, Muhammad is at the top of the list of boy baby names in the province's capital.

The rise of Muhammad on the list comes as Canada’s Muslim population continues to grow. According to Statistics Canada, the proportion of the population reporting as Muslim more than doubled over two decades, increasing from 2.0 percent in 2001 to 4.9 percent in 2021. Roughly 1.8 million Muslims currently live in Canada. The Muslim population is also younger than the national average, with a median age of 30, compared to 41.2 for the overall Canadian population.

Canadian officials have frequently applauded demographic changes as evidence of the country’s growing multiculturalism. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Mark Canary spoke at a Muslim Association of Canada event marking Eid al-Adha, where he praised Canada as a “diverse country” and a “proud home to different languages, different beliefs, different cultures.” He said those differences made the country stronger and added that Canadians must “come together around the values of Eid,” calling them not just “Muslim values” but “Canadian values.”

The growing visibility of Islam in public life in Canada has also generated controversy. Earlier this year, the Toronto Police Service faced backlash after two Muslim liaison officers stated on a podcast that the Hamas October 7 attack on Israel led more people to study and convert to Islam. The now-deleted episode featured Constables Haroon Siddiqui and Farhan Ali discussing the impact of the attack, including claims that it prompted increased interest in Islam and eventual “reverts.”