Given name & surname
Musa
“a savior”
In Arabic use, Musa carries the interpretation “a savior.”
Original Arabicموسى
Meaning & origin
What it means
In Arabic use, Musa carries the interpretation “a savior.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Arabic.
How it developed
Musa is used as a form of Moses.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1891. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Musa is a form 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
Musa through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 6,140
- 6,109 boys · 31 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 651 babies
- 2025
- 651
- #470 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +65%
- Rising fast
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 651 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 470 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 65.3% 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 (97). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 4,955 as a first name in 2020; 5,155 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.
Musa’s family of names
In English usage, Musa shares an earlier linguistic root with Moses. In English usage, Musa has a conventional equivalent in the French form MOUSSA. Musa is a form of Moses.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Musa has relatives in 9 languages. Lines run from its Arabic roots to each of them.
Arabicwhere Musa comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 5
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 30
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- موسىArabic
- Mosheequivalent
- Mosesdoublet · English, German
- Moisesequivalent
- MoussaFrench
- Moisheequivalent
- Moiseequivalent
- MuseFrench
Show 22 moreShow fewer
- Moshehequivalent
- Mozesequivalent
- Моисейequivalent
- Mózesequivalent
- Moosesequivalent
- Mosèequivalent
- Moisisequivalent
- משהequivalent
- Mojżeszequivalent
- Moisèsequivalent
- Мошеequivalent
- ܡܘܣܐequivalent
- ΜωυσήςGreek
- MoïseFrench
- Movsesequivalent
- Մովսեսequivalent
- Muuseequivalent
- Moscheequivalent
- Moisésequivalent
- Moisseyequivalent
- Moiseiequivalent
- موسیPersian
People named Musa
- Mansa Musa14th-century emperor (mansa) of the Mali Empire1280–1337
- Musa al-Kazimseventh of the Twelve Imams (745–799 CE)
- Musa ÇelebiOttoman prince1388–1413
- Musa BarrowGambian association football playerborn 1998
- Musa GareyevSoviet aviator, twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1922–1987)
- Musa AnterTurkish writer (1920–1992)1917–1992
- Musa MogushkovRussian judokaborn 1988
- Qāḍī Zāda al-RūmīIslamic mathematician-astronomer1364–1436
- Al-Ashraf Musa ibn AdilAyyubid emir of Damascus 1229–12371178–1237
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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If you love Musa, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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