Mohammad becoming most popular name

Brussels: Mohammad, or other variations of the name of Islam's founding Prophet has become the most popular name choice for baby boys in the four biggest cities of Holland.

The country's social security agency found that traditional Dutch names have been displaced in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht as the country's Muslim population grows.

In The Hague, the Dutch capital, variations of the name Mohammad have taken first, second and fifth place in the table of most popular names for boys, replacing traditional favourites such as Jan, Luuk, Gijs or Daan. At a national level, Mohammad is now the 16th most popular name for boys.

The figures, obtained from the Dutch Social Insurance Bank, differ from the official statistics, which have in the past counted various spellings of Muhammad as different names. Previous government name counts, separating the different versions, avoided controversy by keeping the name of Islam's founder outside the Dutch top 20.

Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right Freedom Party, which leads the Dutch opinion polls, has demanded a government investigation after Daily Telegraph's report last week that more than a fifth of the EU's population is forecast to be Muslim by 2050.