Given name & surname
Moshe
“to give birth to”
Moshe is a masculine given name from Hebrew, ultimately from Egyptian. It is used in English and French.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Moshe goes back to Egyptian msj, meaning “to give birth to.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
Moshe is a variant of Moses. A possible origin is Egyptian, although the derivation remains uncertain.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
A transliteration of Hebrew משה (moshé), from Egyptian msj (“to give birth to”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1942. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Moshe is a variant of Moses. The history of Moses gives this family its wider story. Moses appears in biblical tradition, giving it a longstanding religious and cultural context.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Moshe through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 18,038
- 18,017 boys · 21 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 728 babies
- 2025
- 728
- #436 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +21%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 728 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 436 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 20.5% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (441). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 13,574 as a first name in 2020; 436 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.
Moshe’s family of names
In English usage, Moshe has a diminutive in MOISHY. Moshe has a related form in Moses. In German usage, Moshe has a related form in MOSCHE.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 26
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Musaequivalent
- Moisesequivalent
- Moussaequivalent
- Mousaequivalent
- Moseequivalent
- Moiseequivalent
- Moshehequivalent
- Mozesequivalent
Show 18 moreShow fewer
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Moshe
- MaimonidesMedieval Jewish philosopher from Spain (1135–1204)
- Moshe DayanIsraeli military leader and politician (1915–1981)
- Moshe Katsav8th President of Israel (2000–2007)born 1945
- Moshe Sharett2nd Prime Minister of Israel from 1954 to 19551894–1965
- Moshe SafdieIsraeli-Canadian architect (born 1938)
- Nachmanides13th century Catalonian rabbi and scholar1194–1270
- Moshe ArensIsraeli diplomat, member of Knesset, and professor of aeronautics (1925-2019)
- Moshe Ya'alonIsraeli military officer and politicianborn 1950
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Moshe, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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