# Moses (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/moses/  
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 | “to give birth to”, “water” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈmoʊzəs/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Moe |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 43,342 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 43,291 / 51 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,551, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Latin Mōsēs, from Ancient Greek Μωσῆς (Mōsês), from earlier Μωυσῆς (Mōusês), from Biblical Hebrew מֹשֶׁה (mōšê). Further etymology is unclear, but it is sometimes conjectured to derive from Egyptian ms-s (msj, “to give birth to”), a common element in Egyptian names of the form ‘[name of deity] is the one who bore him’; or, alternatively, contains Egyptian N35A (mw, “water”).

## What it means

Moses is grouped under water.

## 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, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1925 | 9 | 3,577 |
| 1939 | 5 | 4,741 |
| 1946 | 6 | 4,811 |
| 1956 | 5 | 6,599 |
| 1978 | 5 | 10,839 |
| 1979 | 9 | 7,109 |
| 1987 | 6 | 10,786 |
| 2025 | 6 | 14,380 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 505 | 515 |
| 2012 | 486 | 540 |
| 2013 | 606 | 464 |
| 2014 | 587 | 482 |
| 2015 | 643 | 468 |
| 2016 | 669 | 460 |
| 2017 | 630 | 473 |
| 2018 | 586 | 492 |
| 2019 | 562 | 510 |
| 2020 | 595 | 494 |
| 2021 | 572 | 513 |
| 2022 | 580 | 514 |
| 2023 | 537 | 546 |
| 2024 | 612 | 500 |
| 2025 | 583 | 515 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 57 | 602 |
| 2012 | 58 | 606 |
| 2013 | 68 | 538 |
| 2014 | 75 | 513 |
| 2015 | 56 | 629 |
| 2016 | 67 | 558 |
| 2017 | 69 | 563 |
| 2018 | 76 | 511 |
| 2019 | 61 | 607 |
| 2020 | 54 | 640 |
| 2021 | 56 | 650 |
| 2022 | 50 | 679 |
| 2023 | 38 | 843 |
| 2024 | 54 | 678 |
| 2025 | 59 | 627 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: مُوسَى
- Armenian: Մովսես
- Chinese: 摩西
- Hindi: मोसेस
- Hungarian: Mózes
- Latvian: Mozus
- Polish: Mojżesz
- Portuguese: Moisés
- Spanish: Moisés
- Swedish: Moses
- Turkish: Musa, Mûsâ, Musalar, Mûsâlar
- Ukrainian: Мойсей

## People named Moses

- Moses Mendelssohn, German-Jewish philosopher and theologian (1729–1786)
- Moses Malone, American basketball player (1955–2015)
- Moses of Chorene, 5th-century Armenian historian
- Moses Montefiore, British financier and Jewish activist (1784–1885)
- Moses Kiptanui, Athletics competitor from Kenya
- Moses I. Finley, American-born British academic and classical scholar (1912–1986)
- Moses Gunn, American actor (1929–1993)
- Moses Ingram, American actress
- Moses Gaster, British-Romanian academic and rabbi
- Moses Moody, American basketball player (born 2002)
- Moses Sofer, Austro-Hungarian rabbi (1762–1839)
- Moses Ashikodi, Antigua and Barbuda footballer

## 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.