LONDON (Reuters Life!) – Oliver nudged Jack off a 14-year-old perch to reach the top of the 2009 league table for boys' names in England and Wales, Britain's Office for National Statistics reported this week.

The headline ONS report on baby names showed that Oliver ended Jack's reign with 7,364 entries compared to 7,090 for Jack, while Olivia was the top name for girls, followed by Ruby.

However, more than 10 variations on the spelling of the name Mohammad in the statistics accompanying the league tables showed the name of the Islamic prophet was more prominent in England and Wales than its first ranking spelled as Mohammed at 16th place in the 2009 tables suggested.

ONS spokesman Heath Jeffries said on Thursday that the government's statistics office always spelled names on their list as they have been spelled on official documents, so each different spelling for Mohammad and any other names were listed separately.

"If you think about the number of Olivers for instance, there is an Oliver, there are Ollies, there are Oliviers, there are Ollies with a Y and Ollis without an e," he said.

Although Jack came second in the official list, which also included Harry, Alfie, Thomas and other traditional English names, the prominence of Mohammad could provide a field day for a small but vocal community of anti-Muslim propagandists.

Jack ranked first in 1999 and Oliver was 19th.

In the 2009 table, Oliver was the top boys' name in six of the English government regions. Jack was the most popular in the two northern regions (North East and North West), and Mohammed was the name most often given in the West Midlands of England, the ONS reported.

Top 10 Names in England and Wales in 2009:

Boys Girls

Oliver Olivia

Jack Ruby

Harry Chloe

Alfie Emily

Joshua Sophie

Thomas Jessica

Charlie Grace

William Lily

James Amelia

Danie Evie