Muhammad
Meaning of Muhammad
Muhammad, a name whose syllables move like slow incense through a cedar-shaded Kyoto temple, springs from the Arabic root ḥ-m-d—“to praise”—and thus carries the meaning “praiseworthy,” a mantle worn first and foremost by the Prophet whose life reshaped the desert winds and, in time, the world’s horizons. In his honor the name spread eastward as steadily as ripples across a moonlit koi pond, gathering countless spellings yet keeping its quiet core of reverence intact. To many parents it evokes devotion, steadiness, and a gentle but unbreakable sense of purpose, much like the disciplined grace of a samurai in springtime snow. Though its ranking in American nurseries has climbed gradually, year after year, Muhammad remains at once familiar and singular, a timeless lantern whose steady glow can guide a child toward humility amid triumph and dignity amid doubt.
Pronunciation
Arabic
- Pronunced as moo-HAH-mad (/muː-ˈhæ-məd/)
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Notable People Named Muhammad
| Muhammad Ali was an American boxer and social activist, a global icon known as the Greatest and widely regarded as the finest heavyweight of all time. |
| Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus founded Grameen Bank, pioneered microcredit, won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize as the first Bangladeshi laureate, and has been the fifth chief adviser of Bangladesh since 2024. |
| Muhammad Kazim Khurasani - Akhund Khurasani was a leading Shia jurist and political activist. |
| Muhammad Abduh was an Egyptian Islamic scholar, judge, and Grand Mufti who was a central figure in the Arab Nahda and Islamic Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. |
| Muhammad al-Baqir - Muhammad ibn Ali al Baqir, a descendant of Prophet Muhammad and the fifth Shia Imam, succeeded Ali al Sajjad, was followed by Jafar al Sadiq, and earned the title al Baqir for his renowned scholarship. |
| Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri - Muhammad Tahir ul Qadri is a Pakistani Canadian Islamic scholar and former politician who founded Minhaj ul Quran International and Pakistan Awami Tehreek. |
| Muhammad Asad, an Austro-Hungarian Muslim polymath born in modern day Ukraine, worked as a journalist, traveler, writer, political theorist, and diplomat. |
| Muhammad Zafarullah Khan - Sir Chaudhry Mohammad Zafarullah Khan, a Pakistani diplomat and jurist, was the first foreign minister of Pakistan and uniquely served as president of both the UN General Assembly and the International Court of Justice, the only Pakistani to lead the latter. |
| Muhammad II of Alamut - Nur al Din Muhammad II, also called Ala Muhammad, was the Nizari Ismaili Imam of Alamut who ruled a record 44 years and continued the policies of his father Hassan, assassinated a year after proclaiming the Qiyama. |
| Muhammad Waseem is a Pakistani boxer nicknamed Falcon who twice challenged for the IBF flyweight title in 2018 and 2022. |
| Muhammad Mustafá Baghdádí - Mirza Muhammad Mustafa al-Baghdadi (1837/8-1910), a leading Iraqi Bahai and one of the 19 Apostles of Bahaullah, organized pilgrimages to Akka from Beirut and helped move the remains of the Bab there. |
| Muhammad al-Ansi - Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah al Ansi, a Yemeni citizen born in 1975 in Sanaa, was held at the US Guantanamo Bay detention camp as ISN 029, cleared for release in December 2016, and transferred to Oman in January 2017. |
| Mirza Muhammad Akbar, a Mughal prince and fourth son of Emperor Aurangzeb and Dilras Banu Begum, rebelled in the Deccan and went into exile in Safavid Persia. |
| Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i - Allameh Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai was a leading Iranian Shia scholar and philosopher, famed for his 27 volume Quran commentary Tafsir al Mizan and honored with a namesake university in Tehran. |
