Given name & surname · also Egyptian
Moses
“Latn mention”·“egy”·“to give birth to”
Moses is a masculine given name from Latin, ultimately from Egyptian. It is used in English, Swedish, and Latin.
Original Hebrewמשה
Meaning & origin
What it means
Moses goes back to Egyptian msj (<i class="Latn mention" lang="egy">msj</i>), meaning “to give birth to.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
A possible origin is Egyptian, although the derivation remains uncertain.
How it developed
In English usage, Moses developed from the Ancient Greek form Μωσῆς.
The story
The name appears in biblical tradition, giving it a longstanding religious and cultural context.
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Moses appears in Acts 15:1, 2 Timothy 3:8, Hebrews 9:19 and 2 other passages.
- Acts 15:1
- 2 Timothy 3:8
- Hebrews 9:19
- Acts 6:14
- Acts 15:5
From biblical name research
Moses through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 43,342
- 43,291 boys · 51 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 669 babies
- 2025
- 589
- #515 for boys · #14,380 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −5%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 583 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 515 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 5.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 669 in 2016. It also appeared in 6 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (86). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 28,165 as a first name in 2020; 38,468 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Moses’s family of names
In English usage, Moses has a diminutive in Moe. In English usage, Moses shares an earlier linguistic root with Musa. Moses has a related form in Moises.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Moses has relatives in 26 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
30 related names in 26 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 27
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Moshevariant · English
- Moisesvariant
- Mosiahvariant
- Mosevariant
- Mossvariant
- Moisevariant
- Moediminutive · English
- Mohsenvariant
Show 19 moreShow fewer
- Modiminutive · English
- Moysesvariant
- Mozesvariant
- Mosievariant
- Moshehvariant
- Mosesslikely variant
- Μωσῆςvariant · Ancient Greek
- Μωϋσῆςvariant · Ancient Greek
- Moycevariant · English
- Moskopet form · English
- Mokediminutive · Hawaiian
- Moschevariant · German
- Moeshevariant
- Moesenvariant
- Mioshyevariant
- Mioshevariant
- Moesēsvariant · Latin
- Mō̆īsēsvariant · Latin
- Mō̆ȳsēsvariant · Latin
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 44
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Musadoublet · English, Hausa
- Morrisanglicized form
- Moussaequivalent
- Mousaequivalent
- Moishecognate
- Mosellefeminine form
- Mortonanglicized form
- Mortimeranglicized form
Show 36 moreShow fewer
- Moiseiequivalent
- Mosèequivalent
- Moisisequivalent
- Мошеequivalent
- مۇساequivalent
- Μωυσῆςequivalent
- Мусоequivalent
- Moyisseequivalent
- Мұсаequivalent
- मोशेequivalent
- မူသာequivalent
- 𑆩𑆷𑆱𑆳equivalent
- משהequivalent
- Moisèsequivalent
- Moesesequivalent
- Moosesequivalent
- Moseoequivalent
- МоисейRussian
- ΜωυσήςGreek
- MoïseFrench
- MoisésSpanish, Portuguese
- Moseyderivative · English
- Movsesequivalent
- Muuseequivalent
- Moisseyequivalent
- ՄովսէսClassical Armenian
- MozusLatvian
- МойсейUkrainian
- MojżeszPolish
- ՄովսեսArmenian
- மோசேTamil
- MohiMāori
- MózesHungarian
- МојсејMacedonian
- মূসাBengali
- Maoiscognate
See also 7
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Moses
- Joseph RothAustrian novelist and journalist (1894–1939)
- Moses MendelssohnGerman-Jewish philosopher and theologian (1729–1786)
- Moses MaloneAmerican basketball player (1955–2015)
- Moses HessGerman philosopher (1812–1875)
- Moses SimonNigerian association football playerborn 1995
- Moses the Blackmonk, priest and martyr in Egypt320–395
- Moses MontefioreBritish financier and Jewish activist (1784–1885)
- Moses KiptanuiAthletics competitor from Kenyaborn 1970
- Moses BlahPresident of Liberia (1947-2013)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Moses, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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