The first name of the slain architect of the October 7 massacre, Yahya Sinwar, leaped in popularity in the United Kingdom in 2024 more than any other boy’s name, data from the British Office for National Statistics revealed.
Yahya was ranked the 93rd most popular boy’s name in 2024, according to the ONS, with 583 babies born last year given the name.
The name’s place in the rankings marked a jump of 33 spots compared to 2023, the biggest increase for any name.
Muhammad remained in first place for the second straight year, with other spellings of that name — Mohammed and Mohammad — in 21st and 53rd place, respectively.
Notably, not a single child was named Keir, the first name of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who announced this week that Britain will recognize a Palestinian state next month if Israel does not reach a ceasefire with Hamas and take steps to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Despite the spike in the popularity of Yahya, there was no definite correlation between the increasing number of babies in Britain with the name and Sinwar’s international notoriety after masterminding the October 7, 2023, onslaught.
Hamas terror group leader Ismail Haniyeh kisses freed prisoner Yahya Sinwar, a founder of Hamas’s military wing, as Hamas supporters celebrate the release of hundreds of prisoners following a swap with kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, on October 21, 2011, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash 90)
The massacre saw Hamas-led terrorists invade Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251 while committing widespread atrocities and sexual violence.
Sinwar spent 22 years in Israeli prison for his killings of suspected collaborators with Israel, which garnered him the nickname “The Butcher of Khan Younis.”
He was released from Israeli prison in an exchange deal for IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011, alongside more than 1,000 other terrorists.
He became the leader of Hamas in Gaza in 2017, and then the chairman of the terror group’s political bureau in 2024, in both cases succeeding Ismail Haniyeh.
Sinwar was killed in a clash with IDF soldiers in Gaza in October 2024, after which his brother Muhammad took over as Hamas chief until being killed by an Israeli strike in May.
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