Head to head · Boys' names
Mario vs Moshe
#438 vs #435 in 2025
Moshe is a whisker ahead (#435 vs #438 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Moshe is climbing the charts fast, Mario is stepping back from its peak.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Mario and Moshe each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1890s: Mario #852, Moshe — — Mario higher
- 1900s: Mario #740, Moshe — — Mario higher
- 1910s: Mario #295, Moshe — — Mario higher
- 1920s: Mario #259, Moshe — — Mario higher
- 1930s: Mario #309, Moshe — — Mario higher
- 1940s: Mario #319, Moshe #2499 — Mario higher
- 1950s: Mario #221, Moshe #1375 — Mario higher
- 1960s: Mario #198, Moshe #1286 — Mario higher
- 1970s: Mario #131, Moshe #923 — Mario higher
- 1980s: Mario #111, Moshe #750 — Mario higher
- 1990s: Mario #142, Moshe #702 — Mario higher
- 2000s: Mario #177, Moshe #620 — Mario higher
- 2010s: Mario #276, Moshe #531 — Mario higher
- 2020s: Mario #380, Moshe #477 — Mario higher
Mario stood higher in every recorded decade — 14 of 14.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Mario | Moshe |
|---|---|---|
| 1890s | #852 | — |
| 1900s | #740 | — |
| 1910s | #295 | — |
| 1920s | #259 | — |
| 1930s | #309 | — |
| 1940s | #319 | #2499 |
| 1950s | #221 | #1375 |
| 1960s | #198 | #1286 |
| 1970s | #131 | #923 |
| 1980s | #111 | #750 |
| 1990s | #142 | #702 |
| 2000s | #177 | #620 |
| 2010s | #276 | #531 |
| 2020s | #380 | #477 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Mario
of the gens Maria, a Roman clan name
Mario descends from the Latin Marius, the name of a Roman clan rather than a word with a meaning. Attempts have been made to connect it to Mars, the god of war, and to an older Etruscan root, and neither can be demonstrated — Roman clan names are frequently older than the language that carried them. What Mario is not, despite the resemblance, is a masculine form of Maria. The two names arrive from different directions and only look like a pair in modern Italian.
Marius, a Roman clan name of unknown origin → Mario as the Italian and Spanish form → carried to America with Italian migration → an American peak at the start of the 1980s → a video game character takes the name worldwide
How it traveled
Nintendo's American staff were working in a rented warehouse near Seattle, and the character in their new arcade game had no name — the design documents called him Jumpman. The story their own people have told for decades is that the landlord turned up during a meeting to press them about the overdue rent, that his name was Mario Segale, and that the character was named after him half as a joke.
Moshe
"drawn out of the water" in the Hebrew reading; "born of, son of" in the Egyptian reading
The book of Exodus explains the name from the Hebrew verb mashah, to draw out, because the child was drawn from the Nile. Many scholars instead connect it to the Egyptian element msy, "is born" or "son of", the same piece found in pharaonic names like Thutmose and Ramesses. Both readings are serious and both are old; the name carries them together.
Mōšeh (Hebrew) → Mōusēs (Greek) → Moyses (Latin) → Moses (English) → Moshe
How it traveled
Moshe is the Hebrew original, Mōšeh, of a name the rest of the world met in translation. The Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible rendered it Mōusēs, Latin made it Moyses, and English arrived at Moses — while Arabic took its own route to Mūsā, a prophet named repeatedly in the Qur'an.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Mario
MAR-ee-oh
Three syllables with the stress at the front. Italian and Spanish speakers give the first vowel a purer sound and roll the r; the American reading is close enough that nobody is ever misunderstood.
- Rio — Takes the back half and is a complete name in its own right now.
- Mars — Playground shortening, and a nod to an etymology that cannot be proved.
- Mimmo — An Italian family form, unrelated in sound and used only at home.
Moshe
MOH-sheh
Two syllables, stress on the first, with the final vowel sounded — not "mosh." Many American speakers say MOH-shuh. The Yiddish form, spelled Moyshe, begins MOY-, and people who grew up with that pronunciation may reach for it first.
- Moish — The most widespread informal short form in American Jewish communities; rarely used on documents.
- Moishy — Affectionate form used mainly for children and among family.
- Mo — The general-purpose English shortening, easy for classmates and coaches; also stands alone as a given name.
- Moshiko — Israeli diminutive, formed with the -iko ending; common in casual Hebrew speech.
- Also Moshy.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Mario if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsMario is stepping back from its peak
- a name with more sound in itMario runs 3 syllables, Moshe 2
Choose Moshe if you want…
- a name on the way upup 82 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesMoshe is 2 syllables to Mario's 3
- plenty of nickname options5 recorded short forms — Moish, Moishy and Mo
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Mario
Strengths
- It is recognized instantly in English, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese without any change of spelling.
- The sound is warm and open, and the name has never been tied to a single generation.
- It carries a Roman history, an Italian-American one and a global one, and a child can pick whichever he likes.
To consider
- The video game character is the first association for everyone under fifty, and the jokes are unavoidable in childhood.
- It is stepping back from its American peak, so it will read as slightly of its parents' generation for a while.
- The meaning cannot be given honestly, because Roman clan names generally do not have one.
Moshe
Strengths
- An unbroken written record going back to the Hebrew Bible, with the same spelling used continuously in Jewish communities ever since.
- Recognized worldwide through its relatives: Moses in English, Musa in Arabic, Moisés in Spanish.
- Short and phonetic — five letters, two syllables, spelled the way it sounds once heard.
To consider
- The final vowel gets swallowed by English speakers who read it cold, producing "mosh" or MOH-shee. Most children with this name learn to correct it early, and the correction is a short one.
- Moshe reads unmistakably as Hebrew and as Jewish. Within the communities where it is common that is the point; outside them, it will be a marker wherever it goes.
- It shares its territory with Moses, Moishe and Moyshe, so relatives and paperwork may drift between spellings. Choosing one and sticking to it saves trouble later.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Mario and Moshe in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Mario and Moshe?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Mario and Moshe — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Mario or Moshe — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Mario or Moshe?
- Moshe, in 2025: Moshe ranked #435 with 728 babies; Mario ranked #438 with 721 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Mario or Moshe?
- Moshe. Over the last five years Mario moved down 109 places; Moshe moved up 82 places.
- Which is the older name, Mario or Moshe?
- Mario entered the US charts in 1897; Moshe entered the US charts in 1942. On the American record, Mario is the older name.
- How many people are named Mario and Moshe?
- About 130,000 people named Mario are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 17,500 people named Moshe are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Marios or Moshes in the classroom?
- Mario will almost certainly be the only one in school. Moshe will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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