Head to head · Boys' names
Mohamed vs Philip
#527 vs #527 in 2025
Mohamed and Philip share the same spot on the 2025 charts (#527). The records cannot split them; sound and story will.
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
On the charts, Philip leads 3 measures of 6; Mohamed leads 1.
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
- 1880s: Mohamed —, Philip #89 — Philip higher
- 1890s: Mohamed —, Philip #87 — Philip higher
- 1900s: Mohamed —, Philip #86 — Philip higher
- 1910s: Mohamed —, Philip #71 — Philip higher
- 1920s: Mohamed —, Philip #72 — Philip higher
- 1930s: Mohamed —, Philip #68 — Philip higher
- 1940s: Mohamed #3231, Philip #57 — Philip higher
- 1950s: Mohamed #3520, Philip #62 — Philip higher
- 1960s: Mohamed #3043, Philip #82 — Philip higher
- 1970s: Mohamed #2057, Philip #90 — Philip higher
- 1980s: Mohamed #894, Philip #86 — Philip higher
- 1990s: Mohamed #634, Philip #170 — Philip higher
- 2000s: Mohamed #478, Philip #318 — Philip higher
- 2010s: Mohamed #450, Philip #416 — Philip higher
- 2020s: Mohamed #546, Philip #490 — Philip higher
Philip stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Mohamed | Philip |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #89 |
| 1890s | — | #87 |
| 1900s | — | #86 |
| 1910s | — | #71 |
| 1920s | — | #72 |
| 1930s | — | #68 |
| 1940s | #3231 | #57 |
| 1950s | #3520 | #62 |
| 1960s | #3043 | #82 |
| 1970s | #2057 | #90 |
| 1980s | #894 | #86 |
| 1990s | #634 | #170 |
| 2000s | #478 | #318 |
| 2010s | #450 | #416 |
| 2020s | #546 | #490 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Mohamed
- France#21
- Canada#100
Philip
Not charting outside the US.
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
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.
Philip
Fond of horses
Greek philos, loving, and hippos, a horse. Owning and riding horses was an aristocratic thing to do, so the name signaled a class as much as an interest. It belongs to a set of Greek names built the same way, of which this one has traveled furthest.
Philippos → Philippus → Philip
How it traveled
He lost an eye at a siege and the evidence may have been dug up. A royal tomb at Vergina in northern Greece, opened in the nineteen-seventies and found unlooted, held cremated remains and an enormous quantity of gold; forensic examination of the skull showed a healed injury above the right eye socket consistent with the arrow wound the sources describe.
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
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.
Philip
FIL-ip
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The ph is Greek and says a plain f; the single l in the English spelling is a simplification of the doubled one that every other European language keeps.
- Phil — The universal short form; plain, adult and understood everywhere.
- Pip — The old English pet form; a complete name in its own right in Britain.
- Flip — The Dutch shortening; brisk and unfamiliar to most English speakers.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Mohamed if you want…
- a name on the way upup 29 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itMohamed runs 3 syllables, Philip 2
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Mo, Momo and Med
- a name that charts abroad tooMohamed is on the national lists of France and Canada
Choose Philip if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsPhilip is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesPhilip is 2 syllables to Mohamed's 3
- a long American recordPhilip was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 12% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 40% for Mohamed
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
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.
Philip
Strengths
- Recognizable in every European language with only small changes of spelling.
- Phil and Pip are two short forms in completely different registers.
- The meaning is transparent and can be given to a child in three words.
To consider
- The record carries it for girls in small numbers, so it is not quite an absolute signal.
- Phillip with two l's is nearly as common in America and the two are confused constantly.
- It reads as rather formal in American ears and has been out of fashion for some decades.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Mohamed
40%chance Mohamed feels dated by 2040
Mohamed sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Philip
12%chance Philip feels dated by 2040
Philip has held the top-100 across 11 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
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 Mohamed and Philip in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Mohamed and Philip?
Put both to the vote.
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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
- France's favorites still rare in America
- Canadian favorites the US overlooks
- Names that begin and end with the same letter
- Royal names with real thrones behind them
- all guides
Where Mohamed and Philip each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Mohamed or Philip — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Mohamed or Philip?
- They tie in 2025: Mohamed ranked #527 with 568 babies; Philip ranked #527 with 568 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Mohamed or Philip?
- Mohamed. Over the last five years Mohamed moved up 29 places; Philip moved down 74 places.
- Which is the older name, Mohamed or Philip?
- Mohamed entered the US charts in 1943; Philip was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Philip is the older name.
- How many people are named Mohamed and Philip?
- About 19,000 people named Mohamed are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 214,000 people named Philip are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Mohameds or Philips in the classroom?
- Mohamed will almost certainly be the only one in school. Philip 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
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