# Mordecai (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/mordecai/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Hebrew |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmɔː(ɹ)dəkaɪ̯/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Mordechai |
| US babies named this | 1,650 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,650 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 64, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Hebrew מָרְדֳּכַי (mordocháy).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 29 | 3,668 |
| 2012 | 38 | 3,040 |
| 2013 | 51 | 2,450 |
| 2014 | 52 | 2,453 |
| 2015 | 57 | 2,319 |
| 2016 | 68 | 2,080 |
| 2017 | 64 | 2,148 |
| 2018 | 63 | 2,201 |
| 2019 | 71 | 2,058 |
| 2020 | 84 | 1,795 |
| 2021 | 71 | 2,074 |
| 2022 | 99 | 1,716 |
| 2023 | 80 | 1,947 |
| 2024 | 74 | 2,051 |
| 2025 | 70 | 2,100 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 3 | 3,467 |
| 2008 | 4 | 3,687 |
| 2010 | 5 | 3,332 |
| 2011 | 5 | 3,300 |
| 2012 | 5 | 3,416 |
| 2014 | 3 | 4,632 |
| 2015 | 4 | 3,908 |
| 2016 | 3 | 4,810 |
| 2017 | 7 | 2,734 |
| 2018 | 5 | 3,412 |
| 2019 | 5 | 3,411 |
| 2021 | 5 | 3,451 |
| 2022 | 3 | 4,789 |
| 2024 | 4 | 4,270 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5,137 |

## In other languages

- Italian: Mordecai
- Polish: Mordechaj

## People named Mordecai

- Mordecai Richler, Canadian writer (1931–2001)
- Mordecai Cubitt Cooke, English botanist and mycologist (1825–1914)
- Mordecai Manuel Noah, American playwright, diplomat, journalist, and utopian
- Mordecai Roshwald, American writer (1921-2015)
- Mordecai Yoffe, Bohemian rabbi (c. 1530 – 1612)
- Mordecai Bartley, American politician (1783-1870)
- Mordecai Meisel, Czech entrepreneur (1528-1601)
- Mordecai Benet, chief rabbi of Moravia and Nikolsburg (1753–1829)
- Mordechai Eliyahu, Chief Rabbi of Israel (1983–1993)
- Mordechai Ben David, American-Israeli musician

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.