Head to head · Boys' names
Mohammad vs Morgan
#561 vs #559 in 2025 · both back after a long quiet spell
Morgan is a whisker ahead (#559 vs #561 in 2025) and both are back after a long quiet spell. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name 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, Morgan leads 6 measures of 6; Mohammad leads 0.
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: Mohammad —, Morgan #350 — Morgan higher
- 1890s: Mohammad —, Morgan #366 — Morgan higher
- 1900s: Mohammad —, Morgan #439 — Morgan higher
- 1910s: Mohammad —, Morgan #438 — Morgan higher
- 1920s: Mohammad —, Morgan #493 — Morgan higher
- 1930s: Mohammad —, Morgan #528 — Morgan higher
- 1940s: Mohammad —, Morgan #563 — Morgan higher
- 1950s: Mohammad —, Morgan #555 — Morgan higher
- 1960s: Mohammad #3470, Morgan #502 — Morgan higher
- 1970s: Mohammad #1540, Morgan #440 — Morgan higher
- 1980s: Mohammad #704, Morgan #294 — Morgan higher
- 1990s: Mohammad #542, Morgan #280 — Morgan higher
- 2000s: Mohammad #583, Morgan #370 — Morgan higher
- 2010s: Mohammad #591, Morgan #642 — Mohammad higher
- 2020s: Mohammad #603, Morgan #581 — Morgan higher
Morgan stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Morgan took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Mohammad | Morgan |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #350 |
| 1890s | — | #366 |
| 1900s | — | #439 |
| 1910s | — | #438 |
| 1920s | — | #493 |
| 1930s | — | #528 |
| 1940s | — | #563 |
| 1950s | — | #555 |
| 1960s | #3470 | #502 |
| 1970s | #1540 | #440 |
| 1980s | #704 | #294 |
| 1990s | #542 | #280 |
| 2000s | #583 | #370 |
| 2010s | #591 | #642 |
| 2020s | #603 | #581 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Mohammad
- England & Wales#53
Morgan
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
Mohammad
praised, praiseworthy
It is the passive participle of the Arabic verb ḥammada, "to praise" — literally one who is praised or worthy of praise. The same root sits under Ahmad, Mahmud and Hamid.
Arabic root ḥ-m-d ("praise") → Muḥammad → Mohammad
How it traveled
The name is Arabic, from the root ḥ-m-d, and was borne by the Prophet of Islam, born in Mecca in the sixth century. With the spread of Islam it traveled across North Africa, Anatolia, Persia, South Asia, the Balkans and the Indonesian archipelago, becoming the most widely given name across much of the world.
Morgan
from Welsh mor, "sea" — the second element is disputed
The first part is agreed: mor, "sea." The second is not. Old Welsh Morcant is usually read as mor plus cant, "circle" or "completion," giving the popular gloss "sea-circle"; others read the ending as "bright" or connect it to the widespread "born of the sea." The sea is solid ground here; what surrounds it is not.
Morcant → Morgan → Morgane → Morgana
How it traveled
The name begins as Old Welsh Morcant, which turns up in early medieval British records and passed into Welsh as Morgan, borne by men and later carried as one of the great Welsh surnames. Breton and French tradition took the Arthurian figure and made a feminine form, Morgane, which is why the name has two settled genders in Europe rather than one.
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
Mohammad
moh-HAM-mad
Closer to the Arabic, the doubled m is held for a beat: moh-HAM-mad. In American English you will also hear moh-HAH-med and a flatter MOH-uh-mad. All three are in ordinary use among bearers.
- Mo — The usual informal short form in English-speaking countries; also stands alone as a given name and as a short form of Maurice, Morris and Moses.
- Moe — Same short form, spelled to look phonetic in English; common in North American use.
- Md. — Not a nickname but a written abbreviation, widely used in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India in front of a second given name on documents.
- Hamada — A familiar diminutive used in Egypt and parts of the Levant, within the family rather than in formal settings.
Morgan
MOR-gan
Stress on the first syllable, the second reduced to an unstressed -gan. Welsh speakers say it much the same way, with a tapped r. The French Morgane adds a final syllable: mor-GAN.
- Mo — The most common short form, informal; also serves as a nickname for several unrelated names, so it rarely points back to Morgan on its own.
- Morgs — Casual, friend-group register rather than family use.
- Morgie — Chiefly used with small children and inside families.
- Mory — Occasional affectionate form; sometimes spelled Morrie.
One short form, two names
- Mohammad and Morgan both shorten to Mo.
Short forms as recorded on each name’s own page. This is here so it is a decision rather than a discovery.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Mohammad if you want…
- a name with more sound in itMohammad runs 3 syllables, Morgan 2
- a name that charts abroad tooMohammad is on the national lists of England & Wales
- a newer arrivalMohammad entered the US charts in 1964
Choose Morgan if you want…
- a name on the way upup 135 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesMorgan is 2 syllables to Mohammad's 3
- a long American recordMorgan was already in use when US records began in 1880
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
Mohammad
Strengths
- Recognized in nearly every country on earth, so it almost never needs explaining or justifying as a name.
- An unbroken written record since the seventh century, and continuous use in dozens of languages since.
- Mo and Moe are long-established English short forms, ready-made for informal settings.
To consider
- The romanisations compete: Muhammad, Mohammed, Mohamed and Mohammad are all correct, which means a lifetime of spelling it out and of forms coming back with the wrong vowel or a single m.
- It is the name of the Prophet of Islam and carries that weight. In many families it is given first and a second name is used day to day, out of respect — worth deciding early how you want it spoken at home and at school.
- The name identifies its bearer as Muslim anywhere in the world. Most families count that as the point; some also weigh how it lands in particular American settings, and that is a fair thing to talk through.
Morgan
Strengths
- One spelling, no variants to correct: readers across English, Welsh and French recognize it on sight and say it the same way.
- A documented line running from Old Welsh Morcant to the present, with the written form essentially unchanged for centuries.
- Works unaltered for a boy or a girl, and needs no adjustment when traveling between English- and French-speaking countries.
To consider
- The gender reading flips by geography. In the US the spelling leans to girls; in Wales and much of Britain it is still firmly a man's name. A Morgan of either sex will meet people who expected the other.
- It is a heavily used surname too — think of firm names and the car marque — so it can read as a last name on a form until the first name is confirmed.
- The best-known bearer in older literature is Morgan le Fay, who moves from healer in the earliest text to antagonist in later Arthurian romance. Some people know that; most only half-remember it.
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 Mohammad and Morgan 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
Still torn between Mohammad and Morgan?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Mohammad and Morgan — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Mohammad or Morgan — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Mohammad or Morgan?
- Morgan, in 2025: Morgan ranked #559 with 532 babies; Mohammad ranked #561 with 529 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Mohammad or Morgan?
- Morgan. Over the last five years Mohammad moved up 102 places; Morgan moved up 135 places.
- Which is the older name, Mohammad or Morgan?
- Mohammad entered the US charts in 1964; Morgan was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Morgan is the older name.
- How many people are named Mohammad and Morgan?
- About 17,000 people named Mohammad are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 38,500 people named Morgan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Do Mohammad and Morgan share a nickname?
- Yes — both shorten to Mo, so in a house with both names the short form would not say which child is meant.
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
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Mohammad, Morgan and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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