Parts of Europe have seen a 700% rise in baby boys being named Muhammad or another variation since the Millennium.

One in 200 boys born in Austria today will be called either Muhammad, Mohammed, Mohammad, Mohamed and Mohamad, official statistics suggest.

For comparison, Daily Mail analysis shows the equivalent rate stood at around one in every 1,670 in 2000.

In England and Wales last year, 3% of boys were given the name Muhammad or one of four separate iterations ubiquitous in Islamic culture. Yet in parts of the nation this was as high as 9%, separate figures suggested.

Many Muslims of Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Indian heritage regard it as a blessing to give a baby the name of the prophet, the founder of Islam.