Muhammad is the UK's most popular boy's name

The Independent today reports on the release of figures from the Office of National Statistics on the most popular baby names in England and Wales in 2009.   The paper headlines the article 'Oliver, meet Olivia', reflecting the most popular names in the two categories. While the Daily Express, true to form, headlines its article 'Mohammed is top boys' name'. A result it arrives at"because official figures did not take into account the variations in the spelling of Mohammed." "The official list put Mohammed in only 16th place. But when the other 11 different spellings of the same name are taken into account it is the most popular", the DE usefully informs. And Damian Thompson in his Telegraph blog, "Mohammed' is the top boys' name because Muslims are becoming more religious, not because there are more Muslims," spews dangerous nonsense in arguing that: "Muslims throughout the world are adopting a "purer", Salafi-influenced form of Islam, thanks to gargantuan Saudi investment in fundamentalist mosques and community schemes. But, under New Labour, the British taxpayer helped fund the imposition of stricter norms on this country's Pakistini [sic] and Bangladeshi immigrants, by handing over large