boys' name ★ peaked 2016

Moses

Meaning A male given name from Hebrew Gender Boy Rank 2025 #515 Trend → Stable

A male given name from Hebrew.

Rank 2025
#515
among boys · ↓15 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
589
named Moses · -4% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,930
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2016
669 babies
All-time total
43,342
#551 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Moses popularity over time

43,342 babies have been named Moses since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.380.751.131.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 859 859 86 – #119
1890s – 751 751 75 -13% #178
1900s – 847 847 85 +13% #181
1910s – 2,591 2,591 259 +206% #197
1920s 9 3,526 3,535 354 +36% #285
1930s 5 2,716 2,721 272 -23% #316
1940s 6 2,773 2,779 278 +2% #343
1950s 5 2,775 2,780 278 0% #383
1960s – 2,106 2,106 211 -24% #459
1970s 14 2,777 2,791 279 +33% #417
1980s 6 3,277 3,283 328 +18% #436
1990s – 3,635 3,635 364 +11% #481
2000s – 5,390 5,390 539 +48% #441
2010s – 5,789 5,789 579 +7% #460
2020s (to 2025) 6 3,479 3,485 581 0% #494

Where Moses is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 587 0.34 outside top 500
2027 591 0.35 outside top 500
2028 595 0.35 outside top 500
2029 597 0.35 outside top 500
2030 600 0.35 outside top 500

Where Moses is most popular

Boys named Moses per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.334 per 1,000. Strongest in Washington, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Moses born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Washington 105 0.642 +92%
Colorado 75 0.581 +74%
New Mexico 19 0.577 +73%
Oregon 43 0.567 +70%
New York 242 0.559 +67%
Iowa 38 0.551 +65%
Arizona 81 0.495 +48%
Missouri 61 0.440 +32%
California 399 0.436 +31%
Wisconsin 51 0.431 +29%
Indiana 68 0.424 +27%
Alaska 5 0.420 +26%
Texas 366 0.415 +24%
Idaho 17 0.415 +24%
Kentucky 39 0.389 +16%
Kansas 26 0.379 +14%
South Carolina 36 0.348 ≈ national
Georgia 88 0.347 ≈ national
Utah 33 0.346 ≈ national
Maryland 41 0.344 ≈ national
Tennessee 62 0.343 ≈ national
Ohio 91 0.343 ≈ national
Michigan 70 0.342 ≈ national
Connecticut 23 0.340 ≈ national
Oklahoma 30 0.339 ≈ national
Virginia 64 0.337 ≈ national
Pennsylvania 88 0.331 ≈ national
Hawaii 5 0.322 ≈ national
Nevada 18 0.316 -5%
Florida 140 0.296 -11%
Minnesota 35 0.285 -15%
Montana 5 0.284 -15%
South Dakota 5 0.269 -20%
Alabama 29 0.265 -21%
North Carolina 65 0.255 -24%
Illinois 65 0.254 -24%
Nebraska 10 0.230 -31%
New Jersey 46 0.228 -32%
Massachusetts 25 0.182 -46%
Louisiana 10 0.098 -71%
Arkansas – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
Rhode Island – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Moses

Moses is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #515 in 2025 with 583 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 43,342 American babies have been named Moses. Its peak came in 2016, when 669 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Moses stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Moses?

The median living Moses is about 26 years old; half are between 12 and 48. An estimated 29 thousand people named Moses are alive in the United States today.

median 26 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Moses year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 6 #14,380 583 #515
2024 – – 612 #500
2023 – – 537 #546
2022 – – 580 #514
2021 – – 572 #513
2020 – – 595 #494
2019 – – 562 #510
2018 – – 586 #492
2017 – – 630 #473
2016 – – 669 #460
2015 – – 643 #468
2014 – – 587 #482
2013 – – 606 #464
2012 – – 486 #540
2011 – – 505 #515
2010 – – 515 #502
2009 – – 544 #500
2008 – – 562 #490
2007 – – 606 #456
2006 – – 618 #441
2005 – – 481 #512
2004 – – 493 #495
2003 – – 504 #491
2002 – – 517 #463
2001 – – 545 #445
2000 – – 520 #458
1995 – – 306 #586
1990 – – 293 #587
1985 – – 315 #489
1980 – – 350 #445
1975 – – 340 #423
1970 – – 184 #598
1965 – – 230 #504
1960 – – 301 #459
1955 – – 267 #456
1950 – – 291 #397
1945 – – 235 #393
1940 – – 275 #343
1935 – – 257 #344
1930 – – 288 #326
1925 9 #3,577 343 #308
1920 – – 383 #286
1915 – – 287 #300
1910 – – 132 #197
1905 – – 78 #217
1900 – – 117 #181
1895 – – 70 #206
1890 – – 64 #206
1885 – – 74 #179
1880 – – 111 #119

Famous people named Moses

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Moses Moses Prophet in Abrahamic religions -1393–-1273 · Antiquity
  2. 2 Moses Malone Moses Malone American basketball player (1955–2015) Contemporary
  3. 3 Moses in Islam Moses in Islam Islamic perspective on the prophet Moses -1392–-1272 · Antiquity
  4. 4 Moses the Black Moses the Black Monk, priest and martyr in Egypt 332–407 · Antiquity
  5. 5 Moses Gunn Moses Gunn American stage and screen actor (1929–1993) Contemporary
  6. 6 Moses Mendelssohn Moses Mendelssohn German philosopher and theologian (1729–1786) 18th century
  7. 7 Moses Montefiore Moses Montefiore British financier and Jewish activist (1784–1885) 18th century
  8. 8 Moses Hess Moses Hess German-Jewish philosopher and socialist (1812–1875) 19th century
  9. 9 Moses de León Moses de León Spanish rabbi and Kabbalist (c. 1240 – 1305) 1250–1305 · Medieval
  10. 10 Moses Blah Moses Blah President of Liberia in 2003 1947–2013 · Contemporary
  11. 11 Moses Finley Moses Finley American-born British academic (1912–1986) Contemporary
  12. 12 Moses ben Jacob Cordovero Moses ben Jacob Cordovero Rabbi and Kabbalist figure in Ottoman Syria (1522–1570) 16th century
  13. 13 Moses Kiptanui Kenyan runner (born 1970) Contemporary
  14. 14 Moses Nagamootoo Moses Nagamootoo Guyanese politician, writer and novelist b. 1947 · Contemporary
  15. 15 Moses Tanui Kenyan long-distance runner b. 1965 · Contemporary
  16. 16 Moses Ndiema Kipsiro Moses Ndiema Kipsiro Ugandan long-distance runner b. 1986 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Moses, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Moses?

The median living Moses is about 26 years old. Half of all living Mosess are between 12 and 48 years old.

How many people named Moses are alive today?

An estimated 29 thousand people named Moses are alive in the United States, based on 43,342 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Moses mean?

A male given name from Hebrew.

How popular is the name Moses in 2025?

Moses ranked #515 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 583 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Moses?

43,342 babies have been named Moses in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Moses most popular?

Moses peaked in 2016, when 669 newborns received the name.

Is Moses a boy or girl name?

Moses is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Moses rising or falling?

Moses has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Moses become more popular?

Moses looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 600 boys named Moses in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Moses?

Well-known people named Moses include Moses (religious figure), Moses Malone (basketball player), Moses in Islam (religious figure).

Names like Moses

Names that sound and feel close to Moses: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Moses with similar names → More names starting with M →