Head to head · Boys' names
Finnegan vs Mohamed
#526 vs #527 in 2025 · Irish vs Arabic roots
Finnegan is a whisker ahead (#526 vs #527 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Finnegan is stepping back from its peak, Mohamed is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Mohamed has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Finnegan and Mohamed each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1940s: Finnegan —, Mohamed #3231 — Mohamed higher
- 1950s: Finnegan —, Mohamed #3520 — Mohamed higher
- 1960s: Finnegan —, Mohamed #3043 — Mohamed higher
- 1970s: Finnegan —, Mohamed #2057 — Mohamed higher
- 1980s: Finnegan —, Mohamed #894 — Mohamed higher
- 1990s: Finnegan #5894, Mohamed #634 — Mohamed higher
- 2000s: Finnegan #1047, Mohamed #478 — Mohamed higher
- 2010s: Finnegan #449, Mohamed #450 — Finnegan higher
- 2020s: Finnegan #457, Mohamed #546 — Finnegan higher
Mohamed stood higher in 7 of 9 decades; Finnegan has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Finnegan | Mohamed |
|---|---|---|
| 1940s | — | #3231 |
| 1950s | — | #3520 |
| 1960s | — | #3043 |
| 1970s | — | #2057 |
| 1980s | — | #894 |
| 1990s | #5894 | #634 |
| 2000s | #1047 | #478 |
| 2010s | #449 | #450 |
| 2020s | #457 | #546 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Finnegan
Not charting outside the US.
Mohamed
- France#21
- Canada#100
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Finnegan
fair-haired, from a diminutive of Irish fionn "fair, white"
The surname Ó Fionnagáin means "descendant of Fionnagán"; Fionnagán is itself a double diminutive of fionn, "fair" or "bright" — so, roughly, "little fair one."
fionn (Irish, "fair") → Fionnagán → Ó Fionnagáin → Finnegan
How it traveled
The root is the Irish word fionn, fair or bright, the same element behind Fionn mac Cumhaill of the old Irish tales and behind the plain modern name Finn. Add the diminutive endings and you get Fionnagán, a personal name that hardened into the surname Ó Fionnagáin, anglicized as Finnegan and long associated with counties in the Irish midlands and west.
Mohamed
praised, praiseworthy
From the Arabic root ḥ-m-d, to praise; muḥammad is the passive participle, "the praised one". The same root gives the related names Ahmad, Hamid and Mahmoud.
Muḥammad (Arabic محمد) → Mahomet (medieval European renderings) → Mohamed
How it traveled
The name belongs to Arabic and to the Prophet Muhammad, born in Mecca in the sixth century, after whom it spread wherever Islam did — Arabic-speaking lands first, then Persia, Turkey, the Indian subcontinent, the Horn of Africa, Southeast Asia and West Africa. Because Arabic script does not write short vowels, every language that borrowed the name had to choose how to spell it in Latin letters, and that is why Muhammad, Mohammed, Mohammad and Mohamed all exist as versions of the same word.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Finnegan
FIN-uh-gan
Three syllables, stress on the first. The middle vowel is a light, unstressed uh; the ending is -gan, not -gain.
- Finn — By far the usual short form, and a well-established given name in its own right — many Finnegans go by it from the first week.
- Finny — Affectionate, mostly used within families and in the early years.
- Fin — A trimmed spelling of the same short form, more often seen in writing than heard as a difference.
- Nigan — Rare, playground-made, from the tail of the name rather than the head.
Mohamed
moh-HAM-ed
In the US you will also hear MOH-ha-med and, closer to Arabic, muh-HAM-mad, with a doubled m. All are recognized as the same name; families usually settle on one and it sticks.
- Mo — The usual informal short form in English-speaking countries; also stands alone as a name and is shared with Maurice, Morris and Moses.
- Momo — Informal and affectionate, widely heard among French-speaking families and in the diaspora.
- Med — A clipped form used in North African and French contexts, mostly among friends and family.
- Hamada — An Egyptian familiar form, used within the family rather than in formal settings.
- Also Hamdi.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Finnegan if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsFinnegan is stepping back from its peak
Choose Mohamed if you want…
- a name on the way upup 29 places on the charts in five years
- a name that charts abroad tooMohamed is on the national lists of France and Canada
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Finnegan
Strengths
- Comes with Finn already attached — a short form that needs no explaining and works from cradle to career.
- Spelled the way it sounds for English speakers, and long familiar as a surname, so most people read it correctly on sight.
- Sits in an established American pattern of Irish surnames used as first names, so it is recognizable without being interchangeable.
To consider
- Finn is a great deal more common than Finnegan, so a child may end up called Finn nearly everywhere and the full name reserved for teachers and forms. Worth deciding in advance whether that suits you.
- The Finnigan spelling exists and is close enough that some people will guess wrong; expect to spell it occasionally, though rarely more than once per person.
- Joyce's Finnegans Wake has a reputation as the hardest novel in English, and literary types will mention it. It is a passing joke rather than a burden.
Mohamed
Strengths
- One of the most widely borne names in the world, so the spelling and sound are recognized across languages, scripts and continents.
- Mo is an established English short form, ready-made for playgrounds and workplaces without any explaining.
- Mohamed is the standard Latin-letter spelling in Egypt and the Maghreb and in French-speaking countries, which gives it a settled written home.
To consider
- Four spellings — Mohamed, Mohammed, Mohammad, Muhammad — are all in real use for the same name, so he will spend a lifetime confirming which one is his, and forms will sometimes come back wrong.
- Stress placement varies between English and Arabic speakers, and between one family and the next. Deciding early which pronunciation you will correct people towards makes it simpler later.
- The name is inseparable from the Prophet, which for many families is precisely the reason to give it; it also means the name carries public weight, and in some settings in the US it invites assumptions the child did not ask for.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Finnegan and Mohamed in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Eight-letter names with presence
- Irish names beyond St. Patrick's Day
- France's favorites still rare in America
- Canadian favorites the US overlooks
- all guides
Where Finnegan and Mohamed each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Finnegan or Mohamed — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Finnegan or Mohamed?
- Finnegan, in 2025: Finnegan ranked #526 with 569 babies; Mohamed ranked #527 with 568 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Finnegan or Mohamed?
- Mohamed. Over the last five years Finnegan moved down 117 places; Mohamed moved up 29 places.
- Which is the older name, Finnegan or Mohamed?
- Finnegan entered the US charts in 1995; Mohamed entered the US charts in 1943. On the American record, Mohamed is the older name.
- How many people are named Finnegan and Mohamed?
- About 13,000 people named Finnegan are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 19,000 people named Mohamed are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Finnegans or Mohameds in the classroom?
- Finnegan will almost certainly be the only one in school. Mohamed will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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