The story
Transliteration of Arabic مُحَمَّد (muḥammad, “praised, commendable, laudable”), the passive participle of حَمَّدَ (ḥammada, “to praise, commend, laud, extol”). From the same triconsonantal root ح م د (ḥ m d) as, but distinct from, Mahmud. Doublet of Mahound and mammet.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.