Spain: the name "Mohamed" breaks all records in Ceuta
In Ceuta, official statistics reveal strong cultural diversity through the names of residents. Mohammed and Fatima dominate the rankings by a wide margin, demonstrating the historical cohabitation between Muslim and Catholic traditions within the enclave.
According to data from Spain’s National Institute of Statistics, "Mohammed" is the most common male name in the city with 2,590 occurrences, or 61.5 per thousand inhabitants. It far surpasses Francisco Javier (757), Antonio (718), Manuel (689), and Ahmed (551).
As highlighted by the newspaper El Faro de Ceuta, this ranking reflects a genuine blending of Islamic-origin names, classic Catholic names, and more recent choices such as Daniel or Miguel Ángel. Historically, the trend shifted in the 1970s in favor of Mohammed, which even reached an unprecedented record of 69 births per thousand in the 2000s, resisting the emergence of names like David or Alejandro.
On Bladi.net : Moroccan Names ’Mohamed’ and ’Fatima’ Top List in Catalonia, Spain
Among women, "Fatima" holds first place with 763 recorded cases, representing a proportion of 18.4 per thousand. It surpasses names historically rooted in older generations, such as Maria Carmen (716) and Maria (664), while Sara and Maryam show very similar scores. While the 1950s and 1960s were dominated by these Iberian classics, diversity gradually took hold from the 1970s onward.
At the beginning of the third millennium, Maryam and Salma made a remarkable breakthrough. For the current decade, newborns predominantly bear the name Amira, closely followed by Maryam, Lina, and Nour, while maintaining cohabitation with names like Sofia and Maria.
